Bali crash rings alarm bell on pace of Indonesian aviation sector's growth
Experts warn a lack of experienced flight crews may be a ticking time bomb for safety as Indonesian air travel grows at 20pc a year
The dramatic crash of a Lion Air plane into the sea off Bali has raised fears that Indonesia's fastest-growing carrier may be putting passenger safety at risk with its huge expansion plans, analysts said yesterday.
Experts also warned that Saturday's crash, in which all 108 people on board survived, highlighted a "ticking time bomb" under the country's aviation sector - a lack of experienced crew to meet rapidly growing demand.
Launched 13 years ago with just one plane, Lion Air has made two of the world's largest aircraft orders in a US$46 billion bet on Indonesia's air transport boom.
France announced last month that the carrier had agreed to buy 234 medium-haul A320 jets worth US$23.8 billion from European aerospace giant Airbus. That came after Lion Air astounded the industry with a US$22.4 billion agreement for 230 Boeing 737 airliners signed in 2011 as a visiting US President Barack Obama looked on.
The company is betting big on the formidable expansion of air transport in Indonesia, which is experiencing passenger growth of about 20 per cent every year.
But Saturday's crash has heightened fears that the plans are overambitious for an airline with an already poor reputation after a string of accidents and which is banned from European and US skies over safety fears.