Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – None of the 20 airlines it has audited are completely complying with safety regulations, the Transportation Ministry announced Thursday.

"No airline belongs to the 'fully compliant' group. Out of the 20 passenger and cargo airlines that we have audited, seven are in the bottom category and the remaining 13 in the middle category," said Director General for Air Transportation Budhi M. Suyitno.

The airlines in the bottom group, category III, are Batavia, Adam Air, Kartika Airlines, Trans Wisata Air, Jatayu Airlines and cargo jetliners Tri MG Intra Asia Airlines and Manunggal Air Service.

These companies have met minimal safety requirements, but have not yet complied with a number of flight-related safety measures. "An accumulation of these conditions has caused aviation accidents and serious incidents," Budhi said.

"If they don't improve, the airlines have the potential to be unsafe to fly," he said, adding that they had three months to raise standards or have their operational licenses frozen.

The airlines in category III will receive reprimands starting Friday.

The airlines in category II are Garuda Indonesia, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, Lion Air, Sriwijaya Air, Wings Air, Indonesia AirAsia, Mandala Airlines, Pelita Air Service, Riau Airlines, Trigana Air Service and Travel Express Aviation Service. These airlines fall short on a smaller number of safety requirements.

Charter airline Ekspres Transportasi Antarbenua and cargo airline Republic Express Airlines also belong to the middle group.

The ministry also audited 28 small and charter airlines. "Of the 28 airlines, eight are in the bottom group while 20 are in the middle," said Budhi.

PT Dirgantara Air Service, which is in the bottom category, had three of its jetliners grounded by the ministry because of poor safety compliance.

Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa said the auditing team consisted of people from the ministry, in line with a recommendation from a previous independent audit team.

The ministry has put out 20 strict and still-developing criteria for the ratings, such as the effectiveness of the management team, the frequency of accidents or incidents, and compliance with routine audits. The minister said during a hearing at the House of Representatives that the ministry would be stricter in issuing aviation licenses because of the large number of airlines that have begun operating in the past several years.

Dissatisfied airline customers are encouraged to send complaints to the ministry's website at www.hubud.dephub.go.id or via text message at 08111899999.