It might be argued that the EU was harsh to announce a ban on all Indonesian airlines flying to Europe at a time when none currently operates any flights there. Yet the national carrier, Garuda, which is included in the ban, was planning to resume flights between Amsterdam and Jakarta next year. The reason that the Indonesian airlines have joined carriers, mostly from Africa and some countries formerly in the Soviet Union, is that the EU does not believe that they maintain and operate their aircraft safely. The EU airline blacklist covered airlines that are mostly African. However, since Indonesia has no less than 51 different carriers, its airline industry is now the most prominently censured. A partial ban on Pakistan International Airlines has, however, just been relaxed to cover two further aircraft types. Indonesia’s ambassador to the EU, Nadjib Riphat Kesoema protested the ban by Brussels and insisted Indonesian airlines are all safe.

Unfortunately the record contradicts this. On Jan. 1, 102 passengers died when an Indonesian jet plunged into the sea. A few weeks later an aircraft broke in half on landing and in March a Boeing 737 veered off the runway and burst into flames. With the exception of catastrophic weather events, there are no such things as “accidental” accidents in the airline industry. The schedules to maintain and the procedures to operate every single airplane from a single-seater to a four-engine jet that can carry hundreds of passengers are set out precisely and clearly. Every public carrier has a specific set of tasks to undertake to keep an aircraft in safe and airworthy condition. The records of these tasks must be made available to both national and international regulatory authorities. The primary enforcement duty however rests at a national level. When the EU, the North Americans or the Russians ban an airline, it is therefore a direct reflection on the local authorities. The Indonesian government’s protests via its Brussels ambassador are therefore unsurprising. It can, however, only successfully rebut the charges by producing the detailed records mandated by the manufacturers of aircraft operated by Indonesian carriers. International airline authorities can also be shown the results of the exhaustive investigations that should have followed every aircraft crash or even near crash.

Worldwide the number of airlines has exploded. Deregulation has produced cutthroat competition. Low-cost carriers are under particular pressure to shave expenses. One insidious development has been the appearance of a black market in counterfeit spares that are not produced to the same exacting standards as the originals. These deadly devices have even found their way into the legitimate airline parts supply chain. When all is said and done, there can be no shortcuts for airlines in the maintenance and operation of their aircraft. The EU’s censure of Indonesia is the more damaging because it is a very public warning to travelers around the world to avoid its carriers. There is, however, no way that a condemned airline from any country can counter such charges, save by producing an incontrovertible record that all procedures have been followed exactly.