Four Indonesian carriers are expected to resume flights to Europe by the first half of 2010, following a European Union Air Safety Committee recommendation to lift the ban.
The four airlines are Garuda Indonesia, Mandala Airlines, Airfast Indonesia and Prime Air.
With the lift of the ban, Garuda intends to operate its first service to Amsterdam and a subsequent service to Frankfurt according to Garuda spokesman Pujobroto.
Indonesia is one of the nine countries, together with Angola, Congo, Equitorial Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Libreria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Benin, that has all carriers banned from entering the EU due to safety issues.
Earlier this year, the Indonesian government announced that all airlines had to operate at least 10 aircraft or be forced to shut down or merge with other airlines in a bid to improve the country’s ailing airline safety record (see news May 15)
For more details on Garuda Indonesia, visit www.garuda-indonesia.com
Joshua Tan
