Jokowi instruct authority to tighten LCC safety management

Lion Air's director of technic had been relieved from duty by the ministry.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo has ordered the authority to tighten safety management for low-cost carriers (LCC). He reiterated the importance of flight safety following the Lion Air JT 610 plane crash incident.

"LCC are operated in all countries, but the most important aspect is to tighten the management of passenger safety. No countries would want such an accident to occur," the president stated after the opening of the Indonesia Infrastructure Forum and Intertraffic Indonesia 2018 at JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Lion Air's B737-8 Max flight JT 610 crashed into the sea off Tanjung Karawang, West Java, 13 minutes after taking off from Cengkareng's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 6:20 a.m. local time en route to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung Province on Monday.

"I have told the (transportation) minister to tighten safety management. I always emphasize safety management. However, for now, let us focus on the search operation for passengers and the aircraft's wreckage," the president or commonly known as Jokowi noted.

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Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi revealed that Lion Air's director of technic had been relieved from duty by the ministry. "Today, we will relieve Lion Air's director of technic from duty and replace him with another person, similar to other officials that have recommended the flight," he noted.

The ministry will also intensify the ramp check process for airlines' fleet, especially of Lion Air. "LCC is a requirement. The problem is not in LCC but how we will improve safety," he stated.

The ill-fated aircraft, with 188 people on board, departed from Jakarta at 6:20 a.m. local time and was scheduled to arrive in Pangkalpinang at 7:05 a.m. local time, according to the Depati Amir Airport authority in Pangkalpinang.

Before it lost contact, the aircraft had sought permission to return to Jakarta due to a problem. The aircraft carried 178 adult passengers, three infants, six cabin crews, and two pilots.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has continued to search and retrieve the bodies of victims and debris of the aircraft. Lion Air has established four crisis centers at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport, Ibis Hotel in Cawang, Terminal IB of Soekarno Hatta Airport, and Soekanto Police Hospital in East Jakarta.

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