Govt to Announce Airlines Safety Ratings
28 January 2015 13:34 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Ministry of Transportation plans to announce all airlines' safety and security ratings periodically every three months. Transport Minister Ignatius Jonan yesterday said the examination and the ratings will be conducted by the ministry's Civil Aviation Directorate General. Airlines that receive ratings below standard will be sanctioned.
M. Arif Wibowo, chairman of the Indonesian National Association of Civil Aviation (INACA) said rating airlines safety levels will effectively increase the public's attention on aviation safety and challenge national airlines to perform better. "It would be good for the public to know what public safety means," said Arif.
However, aviation observer Gerry Soedjatman said he was "confused" by the plan, since he feels that the Ministry is still short in both human resources and their technical capabilities.
Indonesian airlines' safety level is currently put in category 2 by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), meaning that Indonesian carriers are not allowed to enter American airspace. Meanwhile, the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) audit in May 2014 found 600 cases of sub-par performances in the national civil aviation organization, meaning they did not meet ICAO Annexes' standards.
KHAIRUL ANAM | ANDI IBNU RUSLI | URSULA FLORENE SONIA