Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Indonesians would be better off if safety ratings were given to other modes of transportation, not just airlines, and were conducted by independent auditors, a consumer affairs expert said.
"Performance ratings, including safety standards, for all means of transportation by certified auditors operating outside the Transportation Ministry are needed in Indonesia," transportation observer Agus Pambagyo told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Agus is a former deputy chairman of the Indonesian Consumers' Foundation. "Actually, according to the civil aviation safety regulations, there is no such thing as a safety rating."
The Transportation Ministry released Thursday a list dividing the country's domestic airlines into three categories – from airlines seen as fully compliant with aviation regulations to those that have not satisfied several flight-related safety measures.
An audit of other modes of transportation by independent, certified auditors is possible in Indonesia, Agus said.
"Many foreign companies use the services of professional, certified performance auditors in Indonesia to check the conditions of the airlines that they want to fly with," he said.
"It is common practice here. An airline that refuses to be audited is usually incapable of providing safe services." Agus said the Directorate of Airworthiness Certification (DSKU), which is under the supervision of the Transportation Ministry, should not have considered technical aspects in their ratings of the airlines.
"The Transportation Ministry's role is only to monitor whether the airline auditors are truly certified," he said, adding that it would be extremely difficult to scrupulously evaluate the adherence of some 600 aircraft to 20 criteria within such a short period of time.
Director general for air transportation, Budhi M. Suyitno, unveiled the airline ratings within a month of assuming his new position.
"The ratings are unfair because some airlines have more aircraft in their fleet," Agus said. "How could an airline with 30 jetliners and an airline with only two jetliners get the same amount of attention in the rating process?"
Furthermore, Agus said, the ratings system should have been extensively debated to make the process and results more objective.
Several airlines, including Garuda Indonesia, Merpati and Adam Air, have said they were confused by both the ratings system criteria and the ministry's methods of obtaining its data.
"To make aviation improvements in terms of safety, the Transportation Minister needs to overhaul his ministry, especially the DSKU, which issues the certification for aircraft and engineers in airports," Agus said.
Yurlis Hasibuan, head of the DSKU, said previously that the directorate would audit the airlines in question every three months while "still developing criteria for evaluation".
Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) chairman Bambang Susantono told the Post that the Transportation Ministry should also incorporate public feedback in its ratings system.
"As far as I'm concerned, the ministry is yet to include the perceptions of transportation users in their evaluation criteria."
Bambang said that if the government planned to evaluate the country's airlines every three months, then its ratings method should be made clearer to the public.
"Evaluation methods can be refined later. However, the sanctions on airlines that fail to improve, as promised by the ministry, should be implemented."