Lion air toothless roar<\/p>\n
Airline safety in Indonesia is once again on the radar. Just
\nrecently two planes crashed, while three performed emergency
\nlandings. The loss of lives and the emotional stress for
\nsurvivors and relatives of the deceased are powerful reminders of
\nthe potential hazards associated with airline travel.<\/p>\n
I'm sure many of us whom have flown since the tragic air crash
\nin Medan have given it at least some passing thought as we taxied
\ndown the runway. You would also think that airline operators
\nwould have stepped up safety procedures and tried to allay any
\nfears that passengers may have.<\/p>\n
Not quite so. My Lion Air flight (JT 366) from Surabaya to
\nBalikpapan recently showed how little has changed. The hydraulics
\nof the rear door of the plane did not function well enough to
\nautomatically close the door, and it took two cabin crew and some
\noutside crew to push and shove the door into place. I presume
\nthat one of the cabin crew tried to report this to the pilot, but
\nas the intercom did not work, and the plane had started to move
\nanyway, she shrugged her shoulders and left it there.<\/p>\n
For the rest it was a pretty standard flight, i.e., reading
\nlights didn't work, air conditioning vents were broken, and,
\nafter landing, the back door could only be opened after the joint
\nand considerable efforts of two cabin crew. I was just glad to
\nget out in one piece. I would have had no confidence whatsoever
\nin either the plane or the cabin crew in case something had gone
\nwrong.<\/p>\n
Clearly one could question the need for luxury issues like
\nautomatically closing doors, reading lights, intercom, and air
\nconditioning; as long as the engines work and the wings hang on,
\nwhat's there to worry about it?<\/p>\n
I have flown in Indonesia for about 13 years and apparently
\nsurvived all of it, so it can't be all that bad. Still the
\nflagrant disregard of standard plane maintenance and safety
\nprocedures, especially in a week of daily media attention to
\nairline safety, makes me worry about flying with Lion Air again.<\/p>\n
I am sure Lion Air wants to avoid air crashes; it is bad
\nbusiness whichever way you look at it. It will need to realize,
\nhowever, that without stepping up maintenance and safety
\nprocedures, its next fatal accident is waiting to happen. I
\nsingle out Lion Air here, but have flown with almost all of
\nIndonesia's widely proliferating air lines.<\/p>\n
And as many of us know, examples like the one I have given are
\nonly the tip of the iceberg. I hope that recent words by the
\nPresident and the Minister of Transportation will result in a
\ntangible improvement in the quality of air travel. At least I
\nearn enough to select the safest carrier; a choice that is not
\navailable to many other passengers.<\/p>\n
ERIK MEIJAARD, Samarinda, East Kalimantan<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lion-air-toothless-roar-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }