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Indonesia bans imports of Boeing 737-200

Analysis

JAKARTA (XFNews-ASIA) - Local airlines are not allowed to import Boeing 737-200 aircraft for safety reasons following a number of accidents involving such planes, Investor Daily reported citing Transportation Minister Hatta Radjasa.

"Any requests to import Boeing 727-200s will be definitely rejected," Radjasa was quoted as saying.

The Jakarta Post reported that the most recent accident happened last Friday when a Batavia Air Boeing 738-200 skidded off the runaway at Soekarno-Hatta airport after being forced to return to the airport shortly after takeoff.

The worst incident in the past eight months involved a Mandala Airlines 737-200 that crashed near Polonia airport in Medan, North Sumatra, killing 102 people on board and 47 on the ground.

While restricting new purchases, the government would not ban the use of existing aircraft, Radjasa said.

"However, we will conduct a comprehensive audit, as well as inspections, to ensure that they are air-worthy and do not put safety of passenger at risk," he said.

The Post said there are around 60 Boeing 737-200 aircraft being operated by local airlines, especially low cost and start-up ones.

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