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Sarah
04-18-2007, 02:41 AM
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia pledged on Tuesday to shut down airlines that persisted to flout safety markers, as the United States advised its citizens not to fly on the nation's airlines after a recent spate of accidents.
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In a message sent to U.S. citizens in Indonesia, the American embassy cited an audit by the Indonesian civil aviation agency, which revealed that no local airline was in excellent condition.

It also said "serious concerns" over air safety had led the U.S.
Federal Aviation Administration to downgrade Indonesia's safety oversight category from 1 to 2 indicating it was not meeting International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

"Whenever possible, Americans travelling to and from Indonesia should fly directly to their destinations on international carriers from countries whose civil aviation authorities meet international aviation safety standards," the embassy said.

The Indonesian audit of 54 aviation firms last month revealed none made it to the first of three rating classes, while six were given a warning to comply with safety regulations in three months or face closure.

"After three months when they've not improved then we close them," Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa told foreign journalists, referring to the airlines on closure warning -- AdamAir, Kartika Airlines, Jatayu, Batavia, Trans Wisata Air and Dirgantara.

The audit was ordered by the government to evaluate transport safety following deadly air accidents in recent months.

First, an Adam Air jet carrying 102 people disappeared in January, and on March 7 a Garuda plane overshot a runway and burst into flames, killing 21 people.

Radjasa, who has faced calls to resign from parliamentarians after the string of disasters, outlined a roadmap to improve the nation's shoddy transport system by 2009.

"Many of our ships are more than 20, or perhaps 30 years old, our aircraft are mostly over 20 years old and our railway track dates back to colonial era," the white-haired Radjasa said.

PATCHY RADAR COVER

He said Indonesia's patchy radar cover should be extended to cover 100 percent of national airspace by 2009, while there would be more security X-ray machines for security purposes.

He said that the budget for transport had been increased by 15 percent this year to around 16 trillion rupiah ($1.8 billion) for the transport sector, but would seek other sources of funding including the private sector for such a huge task.

The U.S embassy message said the recent accidents "raise questions about the safety practices of Indonesian air carriers and their oversight by the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation."

Air travel in Indonesia, a sprawling nation of more than 17,000 islands, has grown substantially since the liberalization of the sector in 1999 which triggered price wars among airlines.

The rapid growth caused concern over whether safety has been compromised and aviation infrastructure and personnel can cope with the huge increase.

In a separate written response to questions, Radjasa denied that budget airlines had operated by skimping on safety.

"It is not true that the budget airlines run by cutting safety related cost," he told Reuters by fax.

Indonesia is also grappling with problems in other modes of transportation.

Two serious ferry disasters in recent months killed hundreds of people, while rail accidents on an aging system built during the Dutch colonial era occur frequently.

TravelnSJ
04-21-2007, 05:44 PM
Thanks for sharing....I have two trips planned this year.....Will be flying Singapore, Silk, Lion, Adam Air and Garuda....I know two of those Airlines are good.....Lets hope the other three....improve:eek:

Sarah
04-21-2007, 06:00 PM
I hope part of your plans are to bring us back some photos! :D

TravelnSJ
04-21-2007, 10:26 PM
Well...first I need to make it back safely:eek:

Zero
04-22-2007, 12:27 AM
Well...first I need to make it back safely:eek:

Thats ok post them before you leave:eek: No need for the safe airlines then.

Matt

TravelnSJ
04-22-2007, 03:21 AM
Nope....No way...not till I get back!...Keep you fingers crossed:)

santelmo
04-24-2007, 07:57 AM
:eek:

God bless your trip...:)

phrenicnerve
04-24-2007, 08:23 AM
I was planning on going there in the near future. Bummer, because the first thought in my head already was "are all these airlines safe?"

My trip from Nadi to Savusavu Fiji was hair raising. It was raining when we got on the plane and that rain water was leaking through the roof. :eek:
The descent into Savusavu was completely an Indiana Jones type of moment!
:eek: :D


:cool:

DrBill
05-15-2007, 03:20 PM
Scott, is there ANYWHERE in the world you won't go to dive? Oh, that's right... you won't dive here at home. Too cold! Just teasing ya.

I'll have to tell one of my dive buddies about this. She's hoping to go on a dive trip to Indonesia at the end of the month. I want to make sure she comes home safely. Yeah, selfish... I know.

DrBill
05-15-2007, 03:23 PM
My trip from Nadi to Savusavu Fiji was hair raising. It was raining when we got on the plane and that rain water was leaking through the roof. :eek:
The descent into Savusavu was completely an Indiana Jones type of moment!
:eek: :D


That brought back a few memories. I took a plane from Nadi to Savusavu six years ago. There were only two other passengers, a lesbian couple [just a statement of fact, nothing negative intended], and they sat in front of me. I think they were ready to jump out of the plane.

Having become accustomed to such flights thanks to our Grumman Goose amphibious fleet that flew to Catalina until the late 70's, I looked out the window and enjoyed the beautiful views of the reefs.

amtrosie
05-15-2007, 06:35 PM
Having availed myself of the air transport system within Indonesia for many years, I would stick with Garuda (the national carrier). Although they were the carrier of record in this last tragic accident, they are, in my opinion the best of some rather poor choices. They used to have the national military pilots fly in the "right" seat to build time and proficiency. At the time the military pilots recieved training at some point, from Auatralian or US military sources. It was some-what humorous to see a civilian clad individual still using flight gloves to operate the aircraft. Try not to dwell on the negative possibilities, but rather enjoy the most beautiful country in the world.

Zero
05-16-2007, 09:23 AM
My trip from Nadi to Savusavu Fiji was hair raising. It was raining when we got on the plane and that rain water was leaking through the roof. :eek:
The descent into Savusavu was completely an Indiana Jones type of moment!
:eek: :D


:cool:

Welcome to the Pacific Islands:D
I was getting a flight from Gizo to Honiara in The Solomon Islands a few years ago when we were told the plane was over weight and a few bags would have to be left behind. As we were connecting to an international flight our bags stayed on and some of the locals were punted. The only worry was our bags were weighed with my mates toe uder the scales to keep the weight down. They got down to an agreeable weight for the plane and pilot but we were still ****ting bricks on take off knowing there was an extra couple hundred kilos that they never knew about. That plane lumbered down the old grass strip and was very close to the end of the island when it took off much to all on boards relief.

Matt

amtrosie
05-16-2007, 04:55 PM
Welcome to the Pacific Islands:D
. The only worry was our bags were weighed with my mates toe uder the scales to keep the weight down. They got down to an agreeable weight for the plane and pilot but we were still ****ting bricks on take off knowing there was an extra couple hundred kilos that they never knew about. That plane lumbered down the old grass strip and was very close to the end of the island when it took off much to all on boards relief.

Matt


A popular musician here in the US was leaving out of the Bahamas and did not want to leave anything behind, so they threw all baggage on....."the crash site was littered with baggage......and bodies".

One is quick to critisize the antiquated air transport system of third world countries, and even quicker to DEMAND thier right to personal comfort.

I think it prudent to point out that these weight rules are not arbitrary, but are, in reality, immutible rules of physics that the various carrier's are adhering to. Kind of like......Boyles Law, is this Law of physics something we flaunt?