Skip navigation
sponsored by 

Indonesia closes low-cost airline

Safety concerns at Adam Air cited after three major accidents in one year

Slideshow
Obama Family To Spend Summer Vacation On Martha's Vineyard
  Welcome to Martha’s Vineyard
President Barack Obama and his family will visit Martha's Vineyard during the last week of August. Take a visual tour of some of the island’s better-known draws.

more photos

Slideshow
Image: The Sacred Heart (Sacre Coeur) is seen in Paris
  Perfectly Paris
A magical city known as the ‘City of Love’ and the ‘City of Light’, Paris is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

more photos

Slideshow
Image: Bay of Fundy
  Wonders of Nature
These 28 spectacular natural landmarks will be considered and voted for – or against – and come 2011, only a handful will be designated the “New 7 Wonders of Nature.”

more photos

  Big changes in store for Oprah?
Nov. 8: Is the queen of daytime television preparing to give up her popular talk show to focus on her own cable network? NBC’s Kevin Tibbles reports, then Rolling Stone contributor Toure and CNBC’s Carmen Wong Ulrich join Jenna Wolfe to discuss the financial and cultural impact of a potential move.

updated 2:05 p.m. ET March 18, 2008

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia’s low-cost carrier Adam Air, which has had a string of accidents over the past two years, has been grounded for at least three months over safety concerns, the head of the government’s air transportation agency said Tuesday.

Adam Air began operations in 2003 and at its peak had 22 aircraft that flew across Indonesia and to Singapore and Malaysia. It recently sliced its number of routes from 52 to 12.

Last year, one of its jetliners plunged into the sea from 10,000 feet, killing all 102 people on board. Another plane broke in half on a hard landing, with no reports of serious injury. Last week, a Boeing 737 skidded off a runway, slightly injuring five people.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

Budhi Mulyawan Suyitno, director general for air transportation, said the airline would stop flying as of Wednesday. The Transport Ministry had found the airline’s operating and maintenance standards inadequate and training of personnel substandard, he said.

Adam Air’s operating license will initially be suspended for three months, he said, and will be withdrawn for good if there are no improvements by then.

Dozens of airlines emerged after Indonesia deregulated its aviation industry in the 1990s, raising concerns that growth outpaced the supply of trained aviation professionals, regulatory oversight and ground infrastructure.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links

Resource guide