"As we know, Lion Air has a dominant share in the domestic market, but it seems to be failing to win public satisfaction. We can see several complaints lodged by the public in social media," Carmelita Hartono, deputy chairperson of Kadin for transportation affairs, stated here on Monday.
A recent incident of negligence occurred when a Lion Air aircraft reportedly disembarked its international passengers from Singapore through the domestic terminal of Soekarno-Hatta airport.
Kadins statement followed the step taken by Lion Air to report Suprasetyo, the director general of air transportation, to the police on May 16.
Lion Air objected to the sanction issued against it by the director general over its negligence to disembark its international passengers through the domestic terminal.
Carmelita has supported the firm step taken by the directorate general of air transportation against negligence shown on the part of Lion Air.
"So far, many sides have urged the government to be firm with regard to enforcing regulations. Therefore, the decision of the directorate general to impose a sanction on Lion Air is already correct," she remarked.
Carmelita said Lion Airs negligence was not an act of misdemeanor as the event led to international passengers being able to exit the airport without undergoing the necessary immigration checks and other examinations.
"If we want to enter other countries, the rules are very tight. They impose high vigilance. We are even asked to take off our shoes and remove goods from our bags. Some even have to be interviewed. We also have to be like that. After all, there is the threat of terrorism. However, this time, the international passengers were able to escape easily, and the event was not reported to the authority immediately," she pointed out.
Lion Air did not report the incident until information about it was disseminated in social media.
Carmelita stated that the Ministry of Transportation had also ordered to tighten security at the airport after a string of terror incidents in Europe.
"However, this time, the international passengers were even able to walk free without undergoing security checks," she added.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
