Jakarta, May 24 (Antara) - The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has urged the Transportation Ministry to lift its regulation on the lower flight tariff limit as it was unable to reduce violations of operational standards in the aviation industry.
"We call on the Transportation Ministry to abolish the regulation on the lower limit of flight ticket prices as its implementation, so far, did not reduce the violations of aviation operational standards," KPPU Chairman Syarkawi Rauf stated in Jakarta on Monday.
Syarkawi said the facts hinted that so far, the implementation of the lower tariff limit on each flight route, which is some 30 percent of the upper tariff limit, had not reduced the incidents of violations of aviation operational standards by flight operators.
Furthermore, the implementation of the lower tariff limit had reduced the number of passengers on several flight routes, particularly those to tourism destinations. Hence, it had affected the economic growth in the concerned regions.
After all, the number of flight passengers is expected to increase in the face of the fasting month of Ramadan next month.
"With the lower tariff limit, the flight cost becomes expensive, and passenger growth is hampered. Furthermore, the implementation of the lower tariff limit also hinders competition and creates inefficiency in the aviation industry," he explained.
Indonesia should increase the number of flight passengers by several folds if the country wants to achieve its target, or it would need to annually sell at least 250 million tickets for the next decade.
This target could not be achieved in the mid-term as a result of the ministry's lower tariff limit regulation.
The government should continue to firmly enforce the law as it has done with airline company Lion Air to guarantee the safety of the aviation industry and not by applying a lower tariff limit.
It appears as though the high tariff would ensure the safety of the aviation industry and a low tariff would reduce adherence to the standard operational procedures.
"In fact, aviation safety or security is not related to tariffs. The most important thing is the indiscriminate enforcement of the law against any violations by flight operators," he emphasized.
In connection with the case of Lion Air, the KPPU will summon the airline company's management over the alleged cancellations of flights on several routes.
The Ministry of Transportation has imposed a sanction on Lion Air, freezing its flights for five days for having recently disembarked international passengers from Singapore through the domestic terminal of the Soekarno Hatta Airport.
The management of Lion Air opposed the sanction by reporting the directorate general of air transportation to the police and postponing 277 of its flights for a month.
"This can be viewed as an abuse of position since Lion Air has a dominant share in the country's domestic aviation market as it operates most of the flight routes in Indonesia," the KPPU chairman noted in a press statement in Jakarta on Monday.
Syarkawi said according to the Anti-Monopoly and Unhealthy Business Competition Law, a business player that controls the market in an industry may not use its position to withhold the supplies of stocks that could cause scarcities and excessive price hikes.
Syarkawi stated that the KPPU supported the steps taken by the Ministry of Transportation to put in order guilty operators. After all, the aviation industry across the world is highly regulated.
To this end, the KPPU has urged all flight operators, particularly low-cost carriers that have reduced their flights, such as Lion Air, to not take steps that are inclined to unhealthy business practices and are against the interest of consumers.
According to Tulus Abadi, the chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Institute (YLKI), Lion Air should not resort to merely returning passengers' tickets after it postponed 277 flights following the sanctions imposed by the ministry of transportation.
"The Lion Air management should transfer the passengers' tickets to other airlines, instead of only returning the tickets purchased by them," Tulus Abadi demanded on Monday.
He argued that while the Lion Air's decision to postpone 277 of its flights for one month did not basically violate any rule, it should also not violate consumers' rights.
"The ministry of transportation should supervise this strictly to prevent the company from violating consumers' rights," he stressed.
Tulus was of the view that the Lion's legal move to oppose the ministry of transportation's sanction was rather awkward.
"It is rather an anomaly. Probably this is the only case of its kind in the world where the operator is taking a stand against the regulator," he said.
The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has also advised Lion Air to improve its services following flight delays due to pilot strike and negligence in disembarking international passengers through the domestic terminal.
"As we know, Lion Air has a dominant share in the domestic market, but it seems to be failing to win public satisfaction. We can see several complaints lodged by the public in social media," Carmelita Hartono, deputy chairperson of Kadin for transportation affairs, stated on Monday.
A recent incident of negligence occurred when a Lion Air aircraft reportedly disembarked its international passengers from Singapore through the domestic terminal of Soekarno-Hatta airport.
Kadin's statement followed the step taken by Lion Air to report Suprasetyo, the director general of air transportation, to the police on May 16.
Carmelita has supported the firm step taken by the directorate general of air transportation against negligence shown on the part of Lion Air. "So far, many sides have urged that the government should be firm with regard to enforcing regulations. Therefore, the decision of the directorate general to impose a sanction on Lion Air is already correct," she remarked.
Carmelita said Lion Air's negligence was not an act of misdemeanor as the event led to international passengers being able to exit the airport without undergoing the necessary immigration checks and other examinations. ***3***(a014/INE)EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 24-05-2016 15:08: |
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