Ban Australian planes from Indonesian airspace: INACA

Ban Australian planes from Indonesian airspace: INACA

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian National Air Carriers Association
(INACA) has called on the government to consider banning
Australian airplanes from flying through Indonesian airspace if
the country continues with its boycott.

"We have the right to select which country's aircraft may pass
over our territory... the government must dare to exercise that
right. Don't let other countries belittle us," INACA chairman
Soelarto Hadisoemarto told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

He criticized the Australian workers' boycott of servicing
Indonesia's air carrier, saying that such action had caused a
loss to the country's business.

"Now, let them experience the difficulty themselves," he said,
adding that Australian air carriers would lose around US$30,000
to $36,000 per round trip if they did not pass through the
Indonesian airspace on their way to Asia or Europe.

Australian workers have refused to handle goods bound to or
from Indonesia in sympathy with the East Timorese, who voted
overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia on Aug. 30 but
have since seen the territory wracked by violence.

Airport workers in Sydney have refused to handle Indonesia's
flag carrier Garuda Indonesia for several days, causing
disruptions to flight schedules.

Latest reports said Garuda resumed normal operations after
workers lifted their ban following Indonesia's decision let a
United Nations multinational force enter East Timor.

Australian dockworkers of the Maritime Union of Australia,
however, are still refusing to handle Indonesian cargo, causing,
among other things, a delay in the loading of around 40,000
metric tons of wheat in Brisbane for shipment to Indonesian flour
producer PT Bogasari Flour Mills, a subsidiary of the widely
diversified listed PT Indofood.

Also on Wednesday, hoteliers and travel agents in Jakarta
expressed concern over the continued boycott and called for
organizations here not to be provoked.

"Personally, I'd say we must not mix politics with business,"
said Hanum Yahya, the public relations manager of Gran Melia
hotel.

The hotel, located near the Australian Embassy on Jl. Rasuna
Said in the Kuningan business and diplomatic district, is among
Australian businesspeople's favorite accommodations here.

She said there was not a significant decline in the number of
Australian guests so far. Around 6 percent of the hotel's guests
registered as of Monday are Australian.

"I doubt the boycott will really affect our occupancy.
Businesspeople will still come here because they have to do what
they have to do," she said.

The chairman of the Indonesia Inbound Tour Operators Club
(ITOC), Arievaldy Kumarga, regretted the boycott by two
Australian travel agents, identified as Great Adventure and
Harvest.

"It's only two agents, but it can affect the flow of inbound
tourists to Indonesia, especially Bali which is the favorite
destination for Australians. Bali would be most affected if more
Australian travel agents boycotted Indonesia," he said.

Australian tourists account for around 15 percent of
Indonesia's foreign visitors.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the Canadian Labor Congress
followed Australian unions by calling on its port, transportation
and communications member unions on Tuesday to boycott Indonesian
goods. (cst)