Indonesia Permanently Bars Boeing 737 Max 8 from Flying

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Transportation Ministry has finally decided to permanently bar the operation of Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

“We have barred every flight of B737-8 MAX aircraft operated by Indonesian carriers within the Indonesian airspace,” said the Ministry’s Director General of Air Transport Polana B Pramesti in a text message this afternoon, March 14.

According to Polana, this critical decision was taken after the continuous airworthiness notification to the international community (CANIC) was issued by the United States’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Read: Garuda Indonesia Considers Canceling Boeing 737 MAX Orders

The FAA notice grounded the aircraft until further notice.

However, Polana said that the ban does not affect Boeing 737 MAX 8 operating for non-commercial use or basically allows the aircraft to take flight without carrying any passengers such as maintenance trips.

Lion Air and Garuda Indonesia that operate the aircraft have not responded to the FAA notice nor have they answered the question of financial losses caused by the grounding. Both air carriers have placed orders for more Boeing 737 MAX 8 units, such Lion Air that is said to have ordered 222 units until 2030.

Meanwhile, state-run carrier Garuda Indonesia reportedly ordered 50 of them with one operational and another set to arrive in 2020.

ANTARA | FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA