Indisk luftfart - Curt Lewis

Lion Air Bans People From "Documenting" Flights


Earlier I wrote about Garuda Indonesia's very, very bad logic. A popular Indonesian vlogger was on a Garuda Indonesia flight from Sydney to Bali in business class. The flight wasn't great, as they ran out of alcohol quickly and didn't have printed menus.

The vlogger shared his experience, and rather than taking the feedback to heart (or just ignoring it - either would have ended better for them!), Garuda Indonesia made the situation 10x worse:

• They banned people from "documenting activities on the plane"
• They were in disbelief as to how the passenger was somehow presented with a non-printed menu
• The vlogger was summoned by the police over defamation of Garuda Indonesia

Long story short, the Streisand effect is in full force, and management isn't thinking straight, clearly.

Indonesian low cost carrier Lion Air is getting involved here as well. You'd think they'd take the opportunity to say "hey, fly with us and take all the pictures you want." Nope, instead they're following Garuda Indonesia's lead.

Kompas is reporting that Lion Air's Corporate Communications has today announced new restrictions on "documenting" flights. Using Google Translate:

"If the institutions or individuals who will carry out documentation are required to ask permission from the company first. Then the company will provide policies.

In the operation of each flight, Lion Air always adheres to and applies safety culture. It is this commitment that confirms Lion Air must prioritize aspects of flight safety and security (safety first)."

Indonesian aviation is starting to sound a whole lot like post-9/11 aviation in the US, in terms of everything being considered a security threat.

Now here's the thing - Lion Air has had more than their fair share of safety issues, to put it mildly (and I'm not including the 737 MAX accident, which I don't think they were at fault for). If they're so disillusioned that they think any aspect of safety is compromised by people "documenting" flights, then, well, I'm at a loss...

This is all just pure, stupid madness. One airline does something really stupid, and another airline follows.

20 Pilots Suspended in 15 Days amid Rising Airline Safety Incidents in India New Delhi (Sputnik): Toughening its stand after a rise in the number of airline incidents and safety violations, as many as 20 pilots working for Indian carriers have been suspended in the last two weeks. An official told Sputnik that six of the pilots flew for SpiceJet, one of the country's fastest-growing carriers. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India's civil aviation regulator, has recorded the highest number of pilot suspensions in a month, as the enforcement of regulations tightens. "Twenty pilots have been suspended, pending a detailed investigation. Prima facie, these pilots were found be to disobeying civil aviation requirements," Indian news agency PTI quoted a DGCA official as saying. Indigo, India's largest air carrier by market share, also came under the scrutiny of the DGCA last week. On 11 July, four senior executives of the airline were issued show-cause notices for safety norm violations, and sources say the carrier will soon, likely take action against at least two of them. "There is lack of implementation of safety management systems in the organisation," a show-cause notice served to SpiceJet on 4 July read. The company has taken action against three of its officials including its chief of flight safety. "Air safety cannot be compromised at any cost. We are monitoring every action, and ensuring that corrective action based on the notices being issued has to be taken without any delay," the official added. SpiceJet has reported back-to-back serious incidents on wet runways between 30 June and 3 July. On 30 June, a Spicejet Bombardier Q400 overshot the runway in Surat, with a similar incident reported in Mumbai. On 2 July, a Boeing 737 veered off the runway in Kolkata. IndiGo has experienced similar events, including mid-air scares occurring in Jaipur and Goa over the past 15 days. The number of accidents and incidents has surged in the past four years, with the highest ever figures and 339 carrier safety violations in 2016 alone. Failure by carriers to provide adequate resources to maintain safe operations can be blamed for the spike in these trends. Indian carriers reported over $1 billion in operating losses in the last financial year, the highest in a decade. High fuel costs, the global economic slowdown, and low yields due to intense competition are some factors that have contributed to the widening gap between revenue and expenses in the airline industry in the airline industry. Jet Airways, India's largest private carrier, reported aggregate losses in the last few quarters, eroded its liquidity and jeopardised its ability to sustain operations. The airline faced significant debt for the lease of aircraft, pilot salaries, oil companies and suppliers and was finally forced to stop operations in April of this year. https://sputniknews.com/business/201907161076259235-20-pilots-suspended-in-15-days-amid-rising-airline-safety-incidents-in-india/ Back to Top

2 SpiceJet, 1 Air India pilot suspended for violating safety norms Two pilots of SpiceJet, who damaged runway edge lights during landing, and an Air India pilot and cabin crew, who were involved in a physical altercation, have been suspended by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for six months for allegedly violating safety norms of aviation. The two SpiceJet pilots are Captain Saurabh Gulia and Aarati Gunsekaran who had damaged runway edge lights during landing in Kolkata on July 2. They were operating a B737 aircraft on Pune-Kolkata route. A DGCA order accessed by ANI said, "The aircraft touched down approximately 1,300 feet from runway threshold point and touched down right of the runway centreline with 7 degrees of roll angle towards right which resulted in the aircraft further veering to the right of the centreline and damaging runway edge lights." Both the pilots were served a show-cause notice and DGCA found their replies were not satisfactory. In the case of Air India flight which was an A319 aircraft operating in the Bengaluru-Kolkata route on June 17, the investigation revealed that the pilot in command Captain Milind and cabin crew Rajat Verman were involved in a heated argument and physical altercation when the aircraft was on the ground during pre-departure phase and preparation for departure was in progress. Both were served showcause notices and the DGCA found their replies were not satisfactory. All the four were suspended for six months from the date of the incidents, the order said.