New airlines operates without license

New airlines operates without license

Apriadi Gunawan and Debbie A. Lubis, The Jakarta Post, Medan/Jakarta

The newly created Sumut Airlines began commercial flights,
this week despite the fact that it has not yet obtained either a
business or a flight license from the ministry of transportation
as is required by law.

Despite those seemingly major details, the maiden flight from
Ferdinand Lumban Tobing airport in Central Tapanuli regency to
Polonia airport in the provincial capital of Medan was presided
over by none other than Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar
on Monday.

S. Eddy Wibowo, the director of airlines affairs at the
Directorate General of Air Transportation at the Ministry of
Transportation, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the
ministry had not yet issued business or flight licenses for Sumut
Airlines.

He refused to discuss Agum's bizarre inauguration of the
airline, even though his ministry had not yet approved it.

M. Syukur, a legal expert at the ministry, confirmed that
Sumut Airlines had not been registered as one of operating
airlines companies in the country.

"To run commercial flights, all airlines are required to
obtain a business license and the Air Operator's Certificate from
the Ministry of Transportation before any can get approval to
operate," Syukur told the Post.

But one of the company's founders who requested anonymity
played down the absence of license.

"It's no big deal, we will take care of it later. The most
important thing is the airline is up and running. If we had to
wait for the license that would mean less time flying," he
explained.

He added that he did not know what kind of business
institution would manage the daily operation of the airline.

The airline was purchased by the North Sumatra provincial
administration, with stakeholders comprising seven regencies
located along the province's west coast, namely Central, North
and South Tapanuli, Mandailing Natal, Padang Sidempuan, Nias and
Sibolga. Each will invest Rp 3.5 billion each year for
operational expenditures.

They, however, have yet to discuss when and how their shares
would pay dividends.

North Sumatra governor T. Rizal Nurdin said that the
stakeholders would subsidize the airlines for two years by
contributing the fund to be taken from each administration's
respective development budget allocation.

"The subsidy will be given until the load factor reaches a
level that enables the airline to finance its own operating
costs," he said.

A provincial administration spokesman, Hakimil Nasution, said
that the company would use chartered 40-seater Fokker-27 planes
from Kuala Lumpur-based Rabin Global Air Servindo.

There are two flights everyday plying a single route from
Tapanuli's Ferdinand Lumban Tobing airport, formerly named
Pinangsori to Medan.

The airline is aimed at providing businesspeople access to
remote and isolated west coast areas.

It takes seven hours to reach Central Tapanuli from Medan
using land transportation, compared to just 30 minutes by flight.

Syukur, however, warned of legal consequences of running an
airline without license, which carries a maximum jail term of one
year or a maximum fine of Rp 36 million according to the Law No.
15/1992 on Air Transportation.

Article 13 of the law also states that the use of foreign
aircraft from or into the country should be based on a special
license released by the government. The violation of the ruling
carries a maximum jail term of five years and a fine of Rp 60
million.