"EU to ban all Indonesian airlines"

Friday, June 29, 2007

EU to ban all Indonesian airlines
Agence France Presse


All 51 Indonesian airlines will be banned from flying to the European Union
from next week after EU air safety experts deemed them to be unsafe, the
European Commission said today.

Experts decided on the ban, which includes national flag carrier Garuda,
after a series of recent crashes in the Asian archipelago and Indonesian
authorities' failure to give adequate safety assurances, an EU official
said.

The ban will become official on July 6, when the European Commission is due
to update its list of airlines forbidden from entering EU skies in line with
the air safety experts' recommendations.

Although no Indonesian airlines currently fly regularly to and from the EU,
the ban could have a big impact on passengers travelling in Indonesia as the
European summer holiday period gets underway.

Under European rules, passengers must be informed if an airline is on the
list of banned carriers and can demand reimbursement or an alternative
carrier for tickets bought in Europe for flights that do not enter EU skies.

"Once more, the EU black list will prove to be an essential tool ... to
prevent unsafe airlines from flying to Europe and to inform passengers
travelling worldwide," EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said.

The European air safety experts deemed the ban to be necessary after finding
"serious" failings in maintenance, operating, certification and
administrative standards, an EU official said on condition of anonymity.

Indonesian authorities also left repeated European requests for information
unanswered until just before the experts met yesterday, but even then they
could not answer basic questions like how many aircraft Indonesian carriers
had, another EU official said.

A series of deadly accidents have fuelled concerns about the country's
rapidly growing airline industry, which suffers from old planes, poor
standards and insufficient investment in infrastructure, according to
Indonesian experts.

On Tuesday, Indonesian authorities grounded nine airlines which failed to
improve their safety record.

Few Indonesian airlines have flown regular flights in the past to Europe and
Garuda stopped flights to EU countries "three or four months ago," according
to European Commission spokesman for transport issues, Michele Cercone.

The air safety experts also decided to include the Ukrainian freight carrier
Volare and the Angolan company TAAG Angola Airlines on the list of carriers
banned from plying European skies.

They increased however the number of aircraft in Pakistan International
Airlines' fleet allowed to fly to Europe from seven to 19 of the carrier's
43 airplanes.

In addition, 10 Russian companies, six from Bulgaria and eight from Moldova
will stop flying to the EU after authorities in those countries banned them
from making EU flights, according to the Commission.

The EU started a safety ban list in March 2006 after a string of deadly
accidents that highlighted the fragmented approach to air safety in the
25-nation bloc.

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