Indonesia officials: Airline wasn’t licensed to fly Sunday route

(中央社印尼龐卡蘭布翁3日綜合外電報導)印尼交通部今天表示,亞洲航空墜毀客機飛行時刻未經獲准,亞航從泗水飛新加坡航線已遭暫時停飛。

交通部空中運輸局代理局長佐科(Djoko Murjatmodjo)告訴記者:「亞航違反既定准許航線及時刻表,這是問題所在。」

交通部發言人巴拉塔(J.A. Barata)在聲明中說,印尼亞航並未獲准在週日飛泗水-新加坡航線,且未要求更改時刻表。

目前尚不清楚,馬來西亞亞航子公司印尼亞航如何在未經當局獲准的情況下起飛。

佐科表示:「我們會就是否違反航線、時間及時刻表,對印尼的所有航空公司展開查核與評估。」

搜尋團隊至今已尋獲30具屍體,搜尋指揮也已派潛水夫潛至發現機身殘骸處,希望找到其他罹難者。

印尼國家搜救總署署長班邦(Bambang Soelistyo)今天告訴記者,搜尋人員在爪哇海找到4大塊物體,其中最大一塊殘骸長18公尺、寬5.4公尺,證實是亞航客機機身的一部分。

班邦稍早表示,搜救團隊在海面下30公尺處發現2塊失事客機物體,分別是9.2公尺長、4.6公尺寬、0.5公尺厚,以及7.2公尺長、0.5公尺寬。

班邦並說,搜尋團隊也發現來自飛機燃料的一片油漬。

亞航這架空中巴士A320-200客機去年12月28日從印尼第2大城泗水飛往新加坡途中,墜毀爪哇海。

失事當時機上搭載162人,迄今未發現有人生還。1040103

Indonesian officials announce a full investigation, suspend AirAsia’s service between the two cities

Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport calls it a “serious violation”
Surabaya, Indonesia (CNN)AirAsia Indonesia did not have a license to fly the Surabaya-to-Singapore route on Sunday that ended in tragedy, it has been revealed.

The airline was approved to fly the route four days a week but it did not include Sunday.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport has announced a full investigation and suspended Indonesia AirAsia flights between the two cities. It will also check all other airlines operating in the country to make sure they were complying with license agreements.

AirAsia search turns up big parts in Java Sea

Indonesia AirAsia CEO Sunu Widyatmoko was quoted on local television as saying the airline would cooperate fully with the investigation and would not be releasing any statement until the results were known. He has not returned calls from CNN.

AirAsia Indonesia is a subsidiary of the Malaysian-based AirAsia group. The parent company owns almost 49% of the Indonesian operation.

The investigation will focus on the operations of AirAsia Indonesia and state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura 1, which manages Surabaya airport.

Transport Minister Ignatious Jonan described the airline’s breach as a “serious violation.”

“How could they fly? Who would they have to approach to be able to make that flight. It would have to be the airport management or lobby air traffic control.”

He said the investigation is expected to take about a week.

“It’s not complicated. There is a checklist of what should and should not have been done.”

He said penalties ranged from AirAsia losing the right to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route through to grounding the entire operation, “depending on the evidence from the investigation.”

Flight QZ8501 took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya a little after 5:30 a.m. last Sunday. Just after 6:12 a.m., one of the pilots radioed air traffic control requesting permission to climb from 32,000 to 38,000 feet and turn left to avoid bad weather. Permission was given to turn but not to increase altitude. That was the last communication with the plane. At 6:18 a.m. it disappeared from radar.

In an statement earlier, the transport ministry said the airline “has violated the agreement on route given.”

“Indonesia AirAsia route Surabaya-Singapore was operated outside of the permitted license, namely among others on Sunday. And Indonesia AirAsia did not submit a request to alter operational day to the Directorate General of Air Transport. This is a violation against the agreement in the route provided,” the statement said.

Aviation expert Geoff Thomas, an author on aviation issues and editor of airlineratings.com, which writes on airline safety worldwide, said it was “highly unusual” to fly without approval.

“If it was not authorized it could realize legal and insurance implications,” he said. “In most jurisdictions, it is highly unusual. An airline will have to apply for a new flight.”

Thomas added that in countries with an open-skies policy, airlines could add or subtract flights as they saw fit if there was the capacity at the airports, but Indonesia does not operate an open-skies policy.

AirAsia was founded by Tony Fernandes, currently the CEO, in 2001. It has had a spotless safety record until now.

Airline safety in Indonesia, one of Asia’s fastest growing aviation markets, has improved in recent years. The last fatal accident involving a commercial jetliner was in 2007, according to the analysis group Flightglobal.

Jonan said he had been in touch with Fernandes via email and that the he had accepted the suspension of the airline.