JAKARTA ~ National carrier Garuda Indonesia met with Japan’s travel agency association this week to reassure members about safety after Tokyo assessed the airline met appropriate standards, a spokesman said.

Garuda spokesman Pudjobroto said that Japan’s Land and Transport Ministry last week “conducted a safety audit on our flights and found that our planes have met safety standards.”

“We are going to inform Japanese travel agencies later this week that Garuda has no problem with its safety standards,” he said.

A ban on all 51 Indonesian airlines flying to the European Union came into force last week after EU safety experts declared they were unsafe.

The ban, which includes Garuda, comes after a series of crashes in Indonesia and follows the failure of the authorities to give adequate safety assurances.

Garuda has been flying for more than 20 years to Osaka and Tokyo.

No Indonesian carrier currently flies to any European city.