Following the string of airline accidents over the past few months, the Directorate General for Air Transportation announced Thursday its ratings of 20 private and state-owned airlines operating in the country. The Jakarta Post's. M. Taufiqurrahman spoke with the new Director General for Air Transportation, Budhi Mulyawan Suyitno, on the sidelines of a recent Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI) meeting about the country's aviation industry.

Question: Why is the assessment of the airline industry only now being conducted?

Answer: While the public is still waiting for the results of our investigation, we constantly expose them to news through the mass media. This is part of social education on transportation safety. We have been auditing these airlines for a long time and have closely watched them before coming up with these ratings. Based on their compliance with standards, the country's airlines have been grouped into three types. These are compliant airlines, which have rectified both major and minor infractions, non-compliant airlines, which have managed to better their performance in the given time and repeat offenders, which have repeatedly ignored safety regulations and made no effort to improve their performance. We will also give consumers a chance to evaluate airlines.

What will happen if airlines in the lowest category continue operating?

I have to remind you that air transportation is basically risk-ridden because it is capital intensive. It is a high-tech, high-speed and high-profile industry. Once an airplane takes off, we are at risk, so there's no room for error. To achieve levels of safety, operators need to follow safety regulations, they have to employ and utilize competent human resources. An operational director, for instance, has to know how to operate an airplane, a technical director has to know all about aviation technology. If an airplane is not airworthy, the airline's dispatcher should not give the green light. We have discovered grave infractions committed by these airlines. A number of airplanes have carried a limited amount of fuel, when the regulation clearly stipulates that reserve fuel is absolutely necessary in case the plane has to find an alternative airstrip, in addition to extra fuel needed for an emergency 30-minute flight. But most of the time, to cut costs, operators provide only enough fuel for one trip, so pilots are forced to land according to designated schedules and destinations regardless of runway and weather conditions. This is a deliberate infraction on airline safety regulations.

Has the age of airplanes contributed to accidents?

Airlines abroad operate the same types of airplanes, of the same age, yet they reach zero-accident levels. If they can achieve this why can't we? This is because of our own stupidity, the stupidity of our regulators, operators and consumers. Operators can not take the blame alone. The key is the regulator, it is the one that decides whether an airliner is allowed to operate. Frequently, politicians, elites and government officials put pressure on regulators to bend the rules. Coupled with vested interests, this has compromised airline safety standards.

What are the government's plans for poorly-performing airlines?

We will give them three months to improve their performance.

How will consumers rate the airliners' performance after the announcement is made?

We will make a special post box for consumers. But the point is that the public can make an assessment for themselves. They can't expect safety if they fly with low-cost carriers. The greatest flaw in our system is that our regulations are not detailed and have given rise to different interpretations. The devil lies in the details.

How did the airlines' maintenance departments perform in the ratings?

Some airlines performed well in maintenance. But we have discovered numerous grave infractions. Some of the airlines have resorted to the so-called "alternate means of compliance" and have tried to get around regulations governing the maintenance of their airplanes. For instance, safety standards require operators to clean air conditioner outlets once every six months or every 1,000 hours of flight time. But sometimes, operators cheat the regulations. We found that the outlets were often not cleaned even after 1,500 hours because the operator argued that it had not reached the mandatory six month period.

So future regulations should carry more details?

There should be no room for pilots to interpret regulations, because airplanes move at high speeds. If visibility is less than 500 feet, then pilots should not force a landing. Pilots may already be exhausted and should not be burdened with more things to think about. We know that most air accidents happen over the weekend because pilots are exhausted. They also occur early on weekdays, when pilots have not yet recovered from their holiday hangovers.

What other infractions are common among airlines?

I can only give you examples. We have found that manuals to be used only in classrooms are being used as operation manuals, which is ridiculous. During my inspection, I also found that some female flight attendants lived in cramped boarding houses. How can they work properly if they do not get enough sleep. The same is true for our pilots. Here, pilots are required to follow the wishes of company owners, not the flight manual. A flight simulator should be used by two pilots only, but to cut costs they are used by up to six pilots who are given their certificate after a 70-hour simulation.

How many airlines are currently under the ministry's watch?

There are 15 regular airlines and a number of chartered airlines. But you should know that chartered airlines uphold safety standards to the highest degree. I think this is because they have foreign-based technicians. Some employ former Federal Aviation Administration officials because they are contracted by foreign companies, which are strict on safety.

What is the difference between low-cost carriers here and abroad?

The basic concepts adhered to by our low-cost carriers are different from the principles adhered to by most no-frills airliners around the world. Abroad, budget airlines spend less money on non-safety components such as food, entertainment, executive salaries and on-line ticketing. Their CEOs work in a three-by-four room. But here, airlines operate the same way regular airlines work, but manage to apply cheaper fares. This has been achieved by violating safety regulations.