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Surabaya airport operator suspends officials from duty following crash

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s acting director-general for air transportation Djoko Murjatmodjo said Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan had ordered Angkasa Pura I (AP I), the operator of Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, and state navigation operator AirNav Indonesia to suspend officials deemed responsible for allowing AirAsia to take off without the correct permits, The Jakarta Post reported.

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s acting director-general for air transportation Djoko Murjatmodjo said Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan had ordered Angkasa Pura I (AP I), the operator of Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, and state navigation operator AirNav Indonesia to suspend officials deemed responsible for allowing AirAsia to take off without the correct permits, The Jakarta Post reported.

In response to the instruction, AP I immediately suspended its operation manager and apron movement control supervisor.

Flight QZ8501, carrying 162 people to Singapore from the city of Surabaya, was officially announced missing two-and-a-half hours after taking off at 5.36am on Dec 28.

“Investigations are under way to ascertain how the airline could fly without the ministry’s knowledge,” Mr Djoko said, adding that similar sanctions would be imposed on any ministry officials implicated.

AirNav has said air traffic control had been about to approve the request by flight QZ8501 to climb to a higher altitude when the plane vanished. The request could not be immediately granted as there were six aircraft flying above the AirAsia flight. Around three minutes after the request was sent, AirNav agreed to approve it, but the plane could no longer be contacted.

Despite the irregularities, AirNav has yet to suspend any officials from duty. AirNav president director Bambang Tjahjono said the operator had not received an official letter recommending the suspension and that the firm would continue to follow the investigation process conducted by the government.

Meanwhile, the East Java Police’s Disaster Victim Identification team working on the bodies of the victims of the doomed flight said it had found no trace of burns on the bodies. Senior Commander Anton Castelani said the bodies were in a relatively clean condition, suggesting that the plane did not catch fire or explode before plunging into the water. He added that the bodies have experienced advanced signs of decomposition, making it more difficult for the team to identify the bodies.

As of yesterday morning, the DVI team had successfully identified 13 of 37 bodies recovered from the Karimata Strait of the Java Sea where the flight crashed. AGENCIES

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