Transport Minister to Meet Australia over Ban on Lion Air Flight

Jakarta, MINA — Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi plans to ask the Australian government to clarify its policy banning its citizens from traveling by Lion Air flight, Antara News reported.

“We will seek clarification since foreign parties have made adjustment about us,” he said in the Presidential Palace compounds here on Wednesday.

The minister said he will meet Australian authorities to discuss the ban.

Actually, the ban has a small impact because only a few Lion Air planes fly to Australia, while many of Lion Air`s international flights are to Singapore and Malaysia, he said.

“But that is not the problem. But it is a matter of reputation so we must seek clarification.” he said.

The Australian government has banned its citizens from traveling by Lion Air flight after the airline company`s plane JT 610 crashed in Tanjung Karawang waters on Monday (Oct 29).

The Australian government said earlier it will review the ban after the cause of the plane crash is known based on the result of investigation.

The Lion Air plane with flight number JT610 crashed some 15 minutes after take-off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport west of Jakarta on Monday morning.

The aircraft carried 178 adults, three infants, and six crew members, a pilot and a co-pilot. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)