Airliners told to double-check passengers for safety reasons

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Air passengers who are annoyed at being asked to provide their identity cards in random ticket checks should realize the process is for their own good, airlines and the transportation minister say.

The importance of ticket checking became clear following Monday's Mandala Airlines plane crash in Medan, North Sumatra, which killed 149 people.

The names of three ill-fated Mandala passengers were missing from the passenger list, causing extra trauma to their bereaved families and meaning insurers were not required to pay out any compensation for their deaths.

The three had purchased their tickets from scalpers.

Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa said on Thursday the government would issue a decree requiring air crews to conduct double checks on passenger tickets before boarding.

"It may be annoying but it should be a must. This is to avoid any chaos (like in the Mandala crash) from reoccurring," Hatta told the House of Representatives Commission V on transportation and telecommunication.

Hatta, who was asked many tough questions at the hearing, said the checks would be made when passengers were checking in and boarding.

Garuda spokesman Pudjobroto, meanwhile, said identity spot checks were a standard safety procedure the national flag carrier had to comply with. However, he did not believe complete double checks of passengers would be feasible.

"Garuda conducts random checks for efficiency at the check-in counters. We've made public this a policy for a long time, so it will be the passengers' responsibility if they still insist on using tickets without their proper names," Pudjobroto said on Thursday.

If passengers were caught with incorrect tickets, Pudjobroto said, they would be required to buy new ones.

"But if he or she manages to get into the plane, we take no responsibility if something bad happens. We only take care of those whose names are on our list," Pudjobroto said.

The check, he added, was also crucial to ensure the safety of the passengers by stopping terrorists or hijackers from getting on board.

However, double checks of every passenger would be difficult because of the time constraints airlines were under. If instituted they would only cause more delays, he said.

"But the message is clear: That passengers know the procedural consequences if their names don't appear."

Merpati Indonesia corporate secretary Jaka Pujiyono said no insurance companies would pay compensation to holders of scalped tickets.

The logic, he said, was that the insurance was sold to the person whose name was on the ticket. "So if it's not your name, and something happens to you, it's not the insurance firm's responsibility."

Jaka said Merpati often conducted full checks on all passengers at certain times but would not elaborate for security reasons.

"We don't want the passengers to know our schedule (of full checks), so they can cheat us. But the message is that they should always be prepared. That's also why passengers are always told to check in an hour before departure. So if we make checks, it won't cause any disruptions," Jaka said.

At the commission hearing, Hatta also said the ministry would start carrying out special inspections and evaluations of all Boeing 737-200 aircraft on Friday.

"Most local carriers operate this type of aircraft and they have the highest accident rates. The evaluations will just be ramp checks (spot checks at the airport) and we will not ground all of the planes."