With growth rates of nearly 20
percent per year, Indonesia is one of Asia's most rapidly expanding
airline markets, but the country is struggling to provide qualified
pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and updated airport
technology to ensure safety. And with so many new, small carriers, it's
hard to monitor all their standards.
"We are not ready for this boom," said Ruth Simatupang, an Indonesian aviation consultant and former safety investigator.
Indonesia's
two largest airlines _ national carrier Garuda and rapidly expanding
boutique airline Lion Air _ haven't had a fatal accident in five years
and eight years, respectively. But small passenger and cargo carriers
plus military aircraft have kept the frequency of crashes to about once
every two months, according to statistics compiled by the Aviation
Safety Network.
Just how fast Indonesia's airline market is
growing came under a spotlight with Wednesday's deadly crash of a Sukhoi
Superjet-100 plane during a demonstration flight. While both the plane
and the pilot were Russian, the flight was packed with representatives
of local airlines that the manufacturer hoped would purchase the
jetliner.
The number of air passengers in Indonesia jumped by 10
million in a year to 53 million in 2010, according to the government
statistics agency, and the upward trend continued last year.
"Infrastructure
hasn't kept pace with the growth of the airlines," said Shukor Yusof,
an aviation analyst in Singapore for Standard & Poors.
He said
the government needs to "spend a vast amount of money" to expand safety
monitoring for the new carriers and invest in airport runways and
technology. He added that the relative ease with which new airlines can
be established, though tightened in recent years, has been a concern in
the aviation community for years.
In the past five years,
Indonesia has added 36 new passenger and cargo airlines, bringing the
total to 86 _ many of them small carriers serving outlying islands where
the only travel alternatives are ferries.
Feeding the demand for
new air routes are Indonesia's population of 240 million, its geography
of 18,000 islands and an economy that grew at a 6.5 percent clip last
year, creating a larger middle class eager to travel.
"Indonesia
is a natural market for growth," said Brendan Sobie, chief Southeast
Asia representative for the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. "It's one
of the world's biggest populations and one of the world's most
underserved markets for airlines."
Transportation official Herry Bakti Singayuda insists that Indonesia's rapid airline growth is still compatible with safety.
"We
evaluate the operators," said Singayuda, who directs the Air Transport
Department under the Ministry of Transportation. "We control that growth
based on their capability, their facilities and personnel."
He
added that the government has expanded flight schools, hired new
inspectors and added 10 regional offices to keep up with the new
airlines.
Yusof agrees the government and major carriers have
markedly improved safety standards in the five years since the EU
blacklist, which followed fatal crashes by Garuda and now-defunct Adam
Air in 2007.
The government responded with a raft of new
regulations and training schools, while Garuda invested millions of
dollars to train staff and upgrade its fleet. Lion Air, which recently
placed the largest-ever order for Boeing aircraft _ 230 planes listed at
some $22 billion _ has also sought to improve safety, though it took a
blow when several of its pilots were arrested in recent months with
illicit drugs.
"Garuda and Lion Air have done a tremendous amount
of soul searching in terms of safety and in bringing in experts ... to
help them clean up their act," Yusof said. The newer airlines, however,
may need more scrutiny.
Smaller airlines serving the domestic
market may have less money to invest in training and hiring qualified
pilots and mechanics, said Simatupang, the Indonesian aviation
consultant.
"There are a lot of new pilots whose flying hours
don't meet the minimum standards, but because the operators need them,
they use them sometimes," she said.
Like Yusof, Simatupang called on the government to do more to regulate the new airlines.
"I
always say to the government, please do the new infrastructure and
safety regulations first," she said. "And then allow the airlines to
expand."
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