Adjustment of Air Transport Agreements between Indonesia and EU

Indonesia and the European Union (EU) are seeking to adjust their air transport agreements following the lifting of an EU flight ban on four Indonesian airlines in mid-July. "I have just received a report on the matter. To be sure, there has been common understanding and perception of civil aviation in the two regions and of harmonization process to increase flight safety," Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said here on Thursday.

The EU had invited the Indonesian aviation authorities to a meeting on initial agreement on certain other aspects of air services on August 17, in Brussels, Belgium, he said. Head of the Transportation Ministry’s Public Communication Center Bambang S Ervan said the meeting was a horizontal meeting between Indonesia and the 27-nation bloc.

At the meeting the Indonesian government was represented by Director General of Air Transportation Herry Bakti and the EU by Gilles Gantelet, he said. Bambang said articles in the air transport agreements the two sides adjusted and discussed at the meeting dealt among others with designation by member state, safety, taxation of aviation fuel, and compatibility with competition rules.

"Actually, the matter has been discussed with EU member states. But the discussion came to a standstill following the EU flight ban on the Indonesian airlines. Now that the ban has been lifted they (the EU) invited us to discuss it," he said.