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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) pushed the
Indonesian government to make international safety audits compulsory
for all local airlines in a bid to improve their safety performance.
The IATA made the call in a meeting Wednesday with Vice President Jusuf
Kalla in Jakarta.
"We encourage Vice President Jusuf Kalla to consider mandating IOSA for
all commercial airlines in Indonesia...This is a priority measure to
make aviation become much safer," IATA Asia Pacific's regional vice
president Mike Barclay told reporters after the meeting.
He was referring to the IATA Operation Safety Audit (IOSA), the global
standard for airline operations safety which has been implemented by
more than 100 airlines worldwide.
"We see mandating the IOSA as a very positive step to improve airline
safety in Indonesia," he said.
National carrier Garuda Indonesia is currently the only domestic
airline listed in the IATA. There are currently 51 local airlines
operating across the archipelago.
Barclay said the IATA was now in discussions with Mandala and Batavia
airlines over safety performance and the IOSA audit.
Members of IATA would need to comply with a two-year IOSA audit cycle
beginning this year.
Indonesia has long been pressured for its airlines' poor safety record.
The IATA said the accident rate over the past three years was up to 2.1
incidents per million flights in Indonesia, which was high compared to
the European nations' 0.75 incidents per million.
Responding to the IATA demand, Kalla ordered Transportation Minister
Jusman Syafii Djamal to study the IOSA procedure.
"Pak Jusuf Kalla has also asked the IATA to help Indonesia to get the
European Union to lift the ban on Indonesian airlines," Jusman said.
The Vice President also called on the EU to withdraw the blanket ban on
Indonesian airlines, Jusman said, since it would also affect those from
the European Union wishing to travel to Indonesia.
The Vice President said the ban "will not only impact Indonesia but
also people from the European Union since they would have more
difficulty getting travel insurance to visit Indonesia," Jusman said.
The EU banned all Indonesian airlines from traveling to EU countries as
of last year, despite the fact that no Indonesian airlines were serving
European routes at the time.
Garuda Indonesia suspended its services to Amsterdam in 2004 but was
planning to resume flights to the city before the ban was announced.
The government has been concerned the ban would tarnish international
image of the Indonesian air transport sector.
Indonesia was still in intensive discussions with the European Union
over the ban, the minister said.
"We are still waiting for the final report from the EU team who would
assess Indonesian airline safety," he said.
Experts from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) visited
Indonesia in November to audit and verify the condition of the
country's airlines.
Following the ban, the Indonesian government has taken several measures
to improve the safety standards of local airlines.
The IATA praised the government over its courage to withdraw Adam Air's
operating license after a series of accidents including a non-fatal
incident at Hang Nadim airport on Batam island early this month.
The National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) recently blamed the
January 2007 Adam Air accident off South Sulawesi, which killed 102
people, on pilot errors and problems with navigational equipment.
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