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'Aviation revamp needed'
15/03/2007 11:52 - (SA)
Jakarta - Indonesia must revamp its air
transport sector and shut down airlines that ignore safety
regulations, a team of experts said on Thursday, following a
string of deadly accidents in recent months.
The team, commissioned by the government after a passenger
jet with 102 people on board disappeared in January, said
safety standards had deteriorated since the deregulation of the
aviation sector in the late 1990s.
"Revamp the management of transport operators, liquidate
operators that ignore safety rules and regulations," the
experts said in a statement.
The team led by former Air Force commander Chappy Hakim
called for a comprehensive reorganisation of air transport
regulating bodies, stressing the need to "put the right man in
the right place".
"Licences issued by regulators must be based on rules and
regulation, not on negotiations and trade-offs," it said.
The state Antara news agency quoted Hakim as saying that a
practice of bribing regulators to get operating licences was
believed to have existed since the aviation industry was
deregulated.
Last week, a Garuda Indonesia plane with 140 people on
board overshot the runway in cultural capital Yogyakarta and
burst into flames, killing 21 people including five
Australians.
Investigators are questioning the pilots and the cabin crew
to see if human error was involved in the accident.
'Independent body' needed
The experts urged the government to improve training of
pilots and other aviation personnel, build better facilities at
airports and ensure aircraft spare parts were available.
The team also said the National Transport Safety Board
should become an independent body answerable to the president,
instead of being placed under the transport ministry.
Air travel in Indonesia, a country of more than 17 000
islands, has grown substantially since the liberalisation of
the airline industry that has triggered price wars among
airlines.
The rapid growth has raised questions over whether safety
has been compromised and if the infrastructure and personnel
can cope with the huge increase.
The team is also due to come up with recommendations on
improving safety on other transport networks including the
nation's over-stretched ferry system.
There have been two serious ferry disasters in recent
months killing hundreds of people, while rail accidents on an
ageing system built during the Dutch colonial era occur
frequently.
- Reuters
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