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.
AFP
