01/08/09, 17:26:50 UTC

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PM to fly blacklisted airline

stuff.co.nz

They say lightning never strikes twice but New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark may wish to cross her fingers as she flies the same route as a Garuda airliner that crashed and burst into flames this year.

Clark is scheduled to fly on Indonesia's national carrier during her visit there next week.

She will retrace the flight of Australian diplomats and journalists following Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on a flight from the capital Jakarta to Yogyakarta in March.

The Garuda aircraft overshot the runway and ploughed into a field, bursting into flames and killing 23 people.

In April, the United States advised its citizens to avoid flying Indonesian airlines, and the Federal Aviation Authority downgraded Indonesia's safety oversight from Category 1 to Category 2, citing "serious concerns".

Last week, the European Union blacklisted Garuda, meaning it cannot fly into any EU country.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) officials are understood to be nervous about the flight, but say they have little choice if the Prime Minister is to visit Yogyakarta, 400km to the south of the capital.

They say that of the 200 domestic airlines flying around Indonesia's 17,000 islands, Garuda is rated among the safest.

A spokesman for Clark said she had no concerns about the flight.

"This is an internal flight on Indonesia's national carrier and there are no other options with international carriers."

Clark usually travels on commercial airlines overseas because the cost of taking a New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 would be prohibitive.

Indonesia has recorded 48 air accidents in the past decade, 23 of which killed more than 700 people. Garuda has had 14 fatal accidents since 1950.

Before the March crash, the most recent was in 2002, when another Garuda flight to Yogyakarta made an emergency landing in poor weather, killing one person.

The last major accident was in 1997, when all 222 passengers and 12 crew aboard a Garuda Airbus were killed when it crashed in low visibility near Medan Airport in Sumatra.

Garuda has pledged to do whatever is required to upgrade its standards to meet International Civil Aviation Organisation approval.

Peter Harbison, the director of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation in Sydney, said Garuda was not the world's worst airline – but not the best, either.

"Indonesia's aviation system is not anywhere near the same level of integrity as ours is in terms of regulatory oversight. The airlines don't have that same safety culture. But, that said, you'll travel on a whole lot worse airlines before you die," Harbison said.

Harbison said Clark was still more at risk travelling to the airport than flying in Indonesia.

"She'll probably get a few Brownie points for travelling with Garuda – and certainly the reverse if she refuses to."

Australia announced yesterday that it was satisfied with Garuda's continuing efforts to improve its safety record and would continue to allow the carrier to fly in and out of Australia.

Garuda suspended flights to Auckland last year.

Clark is visiting Indonesia on her first bilateral trip in five years, and hopes to reinvigorate a relationship with the world's largest Muslim nation that has cooled in recent years over concerns about terrorism and human rights abuses in East Timor and Papua.

She will discuss counter-terrorism, trade and regional partnerships with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and also visit a New Zealand Aid project in Yogyakara, which suffered a 7.7 magnitude earthquake last year, killing at least 339 people.

Diplomatic Protection Squad (DPS) officers have been in Indonesia ahead of her visit and Clark will also take DPS officers with her.

 Printable Version  | published Jul 12, 2007