Rotorcraft Report: Indonesia Grounds Helicopter Carrier, Small Airlines

COMMERCIAL | AIR TAXI

Indonesia’s transport ministry last month grounded the helicopter operator Helizona and four small airlines, charging they did not meet safety standards.

The transport ministry gave the operator until September to demonstrate that they meet minimum safety standards. "Those airlines, with small planes for rent, didn’t meet safety standards," the ministry’s director general of air transportation, Budi Mulyawan Suyitno, said. If any fails to satisfy the ministry that it complies with safety standards within three months, "we will revoke their air operator’s certificate."

The groundings are part of a campaign to improve aviation safety in Indonesia in the wake of a string of commercial airline accidents that have raised international concerns. The European Union has banned all 51 Indonesian airlines from its airspace.