JUNE/JULY 2016 AviationPros.com 9
BUSINESS BUZZ
Indonesian Transportation Ministry
Threatens Lion Air, AirAsia Indonesia
Handling Permits Following Mishap
G
round handling operations of
two Indonesian air carriers, Lion
Air and Indonesia AirAsia, were
threatened to have their permits
completely revoked, instead of previous plans
to suspend operations, after international
passengers were taken to domestic terminals.
Indonesia's Transportation Ministry's
spokesperson Hemi Pamuraharjo told the-
jakartapost.com, the director general for air
transportation decided not to impose permit
suspensions, but would revoke the airlines'
ground-handling permits if they failed to
implement the six to seven recommenda-
tions they were each given.
The mishandling, which led to an on-go-
ing investigation, allowed passengers to miss
immigration checkpoints, including pass-
port stamping. Lion Air, for example, deliv-
ered 16 passengers to the domestic terminal
on a fight from Singapore to Jakarta, and
Indonesia AirAsia took passengers through
a domestic terminal after a fight from Sing-
apore to Bali.
Indonesia's Transportation Ministry said
on May 18, it would suspend the in-house
ground-based passenger handling opera-
tions at Soekarno-Hatta International Air -
port and Ngurah Rai International Airport
of the two airlines starting May 23. The
suspension was later reconsidered.
"Lion Air has 30 days to follow the recom-
mendations relating to operational services
following the investigation," Pamuraharjo
told thejakartapost.com. "Until then the
ground-handling activities can run as usual."
Recommendations included evaluation
ground-handling management and stan-
dard operating procedures and training
staff. The ministry said it would not allow
the operators to hand over the service to a
third party, something the airlines previ-
ously stated was in the plan.
All the passengers who bypassed immi-
gration were recalled. All AirAsia passengers
went back through the immigration pro-
cesses, but one lone Hungarian passenger of
Lion Air has not yet reported to immigration
authorities.
By Vesna Brajkovic
Ground handling operations of two Indonesian air carriers, Lion Air and
Indonesia AirAsia, were threatened to have their permits completely
revoked after international passengers were taken to domestic terminals.
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