Pressure is on for low-cost carrier Indonesia AirAsia X, as Indonesian authorities could ground flights since the airline is reportedly among eight airlines that don’t meet the minimum requirements for the amount of aircraft in their fleets.
The airline does not have a minimum of 10 aircraft in its fleet, as required—Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport said last week that it will suspend flight permits of eight airlines for the month of October if they don’t own a minimum of five aircraft and lease five more by this time period, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
Indonesia AirAsia X was on this list of eight airlines under fire and reportedly just has two Airbus A320-200 and three Airbus A320-300, but it plans to add as many as three planes by next year when it seeks to expand to China and maybe other Australian cities, according to the SMH.
Indonesia AirAsia X chief executive Dendy Kurniawan has apparently responded to the Ministry of Transport’s announcement, asserting that the airline will meet the requirements.
“It has always been Indonesia AirAsia X’s intention to work closely with Indonesia’s government to drive international arrivals into the country,” Kurniawan said, as quoted by the SMH. “It is our sincere hope that Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport would extend its full support to airlines for the betterment of Indonesia’s aviation industry.”
Indonesia AirAsia X is popular amongst budget travelers to Bali, since it offers cheap flights from Melbourne and Sydney to our island.
The budget airline has already suffered through its fair share of drama earlier this year, trying to obtain the license to operate from Australian authorities.
Indonesia AirAsia Extra aka Indonesia AirAsia X, is a joint venture of Malaysian airline AirAsia X and Indonesia AirAsia.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
