Good news for Indonesia and Bali.
from this morning's Jakarta Globe:
Air Safety Still a Goal After EU Lifts Ban: Transport Ministry
Following the announcement by the European Union that it would partially lift its ban on Indonesian airlines, the Ministry of Transportation said on Sunday that it would continue to work on improving the safety record of the country's aviation industry.
"I cannot give any guarantee, but logically the recommendations will remain until [the EU] issues an official announcement because the recommendation was the result of a study by technical teams from the 27 member countries," Herry Bhakti Singayuda, the director general of aviation at the Ministry of Transportation, said on Sunday.
The ministry announced on Friday that the Air Safety Commission in Brussels had approved Indonesia's presentation on the latest air safety conditions in the country, and that the commission had issued a letter asking for the lifting of restrictions on four operators — flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, Mandala Airlines and charter airlines Airfast and Premi Air.
The government has yet to receive an official announcement from the EU on the lifting of the ban on the four airlines. The official communication is expected to be issued next Sunday.
Herry said that air transportation regulators in the country would continue to focus on airline maintenance, developing the competency of airline staff and improving aviation safety controls, including the auditing and surveillance of operators.
Herry said that the government would also work on getting the EU to lift its ban on the 47 other Indonesian carriers.
"In September, we will meet the EU to discuss and follow up our partnership," he said. "We want the ban completely lifted."
Herry added that during the meeting, the two sides would draw up guidelines on how the EU would audit the 47 airlines.
He said it was possible different guidelines would be used to assess the airlines than were used for the four airlines covered in Friday's announcement. "The main point is that [the EU's] trust in us is improving. Now it is our job to keep that trust and improve our aviation safety."
Herry warned that the number of accidents was unlikely to fall immediately because of the numerous factors involved in ensuring air safety, including personnel, aircraft and the weather. However, he said the aviation industry would push to maintain and improve safety standards.
"We hope that by applying all the standard procedures, the number of accidents will decrease," Herry said.
He added that the partial lifting of the EU ban would not only affect international flights, but also local ones, with more foreign nationals likely to fly with local carriers.
Mandala Airline's safety manager, Peter Ranti, said the airline had no immediate plans to fly to Europe, but he hoped that passengers would feel more secure when flying with Mandala.