"The Transportation Ministry is unable to supervise and create a safety system for plane passengers, which is what led to the AirAsia QZ8501 tragedy. Now, the government wants to sacrifice consumer satisfaction by banning low-cost carrier operation," she stated here on Friday.
Indah noted the government should not have banned low-cost carriers on the argument that they do not ensure the safety of passengers.
"Safety is not only about cheap ticket prices but also about supervisory standards in airport," she added.
AirAsia flight QZ8501, which was going from Surabaya (East Java province) to Singapore, lost contact with air traffic control on Dec 28. After days, search and rescue teams found the debris of the plane, which had gone missing with 162 passengers on board, in waters near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan province.
Later, the Transportation Ministry revealed that AirAsia QZ8501 plane had no permit to fly that day.
However, an official statement of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) published on its website www.caas.gov.sg said that AirAsia QZ8501s service on Monday (Dec. 28) was legal.
The Indonesian Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan then noted there will be further action and ministry officials found at fault will be dismissed.
"We dismissed some officials earlier. There will be more dismissals," Jonan stated after meeting with officials at Iskandar Airport in Pangkalan Bun, Kotawaringin Barat, last Wednesday.
Until now, search and rescue teams have recovered 46 bodies of the total 162 passengers in the plane. Search for the planes black box is also under way.
(Reporting by Syaiful Hakim/Translating and editing by Amie Fenia Arimbi/INE/KR-BSR/A014)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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