JAKARTA ~ The authorities have grounded five airlines and given them three months to improve safety standards or face a ban, a Transport Ministry spokesman said this week.
A safety audit found airlines Helizona, SMAC, Asco Nusa Air, Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines and Dirgantara Air Service failed to meet minimum standards in all safety categories, spokesman Bambang Ervan said on Tuesday.
The airlines had been moved into the ministry’s lowest safety ranking and had had their Air Operator’s Certificates (AOC) suspended, Ervan said.
“They can’t fly because their certificates have been frozen. If after three months they don’t take any action, their AOCs will be revoked,” he said.
In June the ministry revoked the AOC of Adam Air after the troubled budget carrier failed to meet a three-month deadline to improve its safety standards.