Union wants airline banned
Australia's aviation regulator has put Indonesia AirAsia under increased surveillance after the crash of Flight QZ8501 on December 28, when all 162 people aboard died.
The Transport Workers Union has called for the airline to be banned from Australian airspace.
Any move to block the airline from operating in Australia would be a major embarrassment to the Indonesian Government and a point of potential tension between Canberra and Jakarta.
Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss said any decision on whether the airline should be grounded was a matter for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
"CASA is continuing to oversee and conduct surveillance of Indonesia AirAsia's Australian international operations and works in co-operation with other overseas safety regulatory authorities," he said.
Yesterday, CASA said that Indonesia AirAsia "is subject to enhanced surveillance following the accident".
"As part of this enhanced surveillance, CASA conducted ramp inspections of IAA aircraft throughout January and found no safety concerns during these inspections," it said.
CASA said it was "monitoring the situation closely and will take relevant action as required".
The TWU said that Indonesia AirAsia should be banned until CASA could conduct a full audit of its operations. Federal secretary Tony Sheldon demanded greater transparency over the cause of the crash, saying the flying public had a right to know if pilot training was a factor.
"We want to see greater transparency and do not want to have to wait several months before an official report from Indonesia is made public," he said.
Mr Sheldon said there were concerns that the preliminary report had not been made public but information leaked out "appears to question pilot training".
"Passengers flying in Australia must be able to make informed choices about the airline they travel with," he said.
He called for AirAsia Indonesia flights to be suspended until the Government could guarantee that pilot training and aircraft maintenance were of a standard acceptable to Australian authorities.
AirAsia was contacted for comment but did not respond.
