Sumatra Utara Airlines grounded<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
The newly-launched Sutra Airlines, owned by the province of North
\nSumatra, stopped operation for the time being as it failed to get
\nan aircraft-leasing agreement with an affiliate of a Malaysian
\ncompany, PT Rabin Global Air Servindo.<\/p>\n
Provincial administration spokesman Eddy Sofyan said here on
\nThursday that PT Rabin stopped leasing its 40-seater Fokker-27
\nplane on the grounds that its president and vice president never
\nknew about the business.<\/p>\n
\"In the beginning, we were very surprised with Rabin's
\ndecision, but then we understood the situation after they said
\nthat the middleman from the provincial administration had made a
\ndeal with errant officials from PT Rabin,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost.<\/p>\n
Eddy, however, declined to identify the middleman. He said
\nthat the company's vice president would discuss the problem with
\nNorth Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin next week.<\/p>\n
The establishment of Sutra Airlines was based on an agreement
\nbetween the provincial administration with seven regencies in the
\nprovince's west coast, which later became its shareholders.<\/p>\n
They are Central, North and South Tapanuli regencies,
\nMandailing Natal, Padang Sidempuan, Nias and Sibolga regencies.
\nEach of them had committed to investing Rp 3.5 billion per year
\nfor the next two years to support the new airline's operation.<\/p>\n
The airline commenced its operations on Oct. 7, with two
\nflights everyday plying a single route from Ferdinand Lumban
\nTobing airport in Sibolga, Central Tapanuli, to Medan, the
\nprovince's capital.<\/p>\n
The airlines aims at providing local businesspeople access to
\nremote and isolated west coast areas in the province.<\/p>\n
Because of the stoppage of its operation, Eddy said that the
\nairlines would return Rp 200 million of fund it had used up to
\nits stakeholders. He said that the airlines would get the money
\nfrom the current ticket sales.<\/p>\n
Ministry of Transportation Agum Gumelar said earlier that
\nSutra Airlines had not been registered as one of operating
\nscheduled airlines companies in the country.<\/p>\n
According to Law No. 15\/1992 on Air Transportation, an
\naircraft flying from or into the country should have a license
\nissued by the government. A violation of this law carries a
\nmaximum jail term of five years and a fine of Rp 60 million.<\/p>\n
Eddy said that the operation suspension was not because of the
\nabsence of demand or of an operating license from the ministry of
\ntransportation, but purely the problem with PT Rabin.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra-based social analyst Wara Sinuhaji said that the
\ngovernor and the seven stakeholders of Sutra Airlines should be
\nheld responsible for the failure.<\/p>\n
He said that those shareholders established the airlines
\nhastily without doing an in-depth analysis to its feasibility
\nstudy.<\/p>\n
\"They (the stakeholders) should have made a reliable survey on
\nthe flight route or on the reliability of PT Rabin Global as the
\nlessor of the aircraft,\" Wara said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sumatra-utara-airlines-grounded-1447893297",
"image": ""
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