Ministry Of Transportation: Lion Air's Boeing 737-9 Max Has Been Allowed To Fly Again

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) Adita Irawati. (Mery Handayani / VOI)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) through the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has allowed Lion Air to operate Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft.

As is known, this ban was issued by the Ministry of Transportation following reports about the release of the emergency exit door of the Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft belonging to Alaska Airlines which occurred on January 5, 2024.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) Adita Irawati explained that the operational suspension of the aircraft was only for a short time to be carried out for inspection. As a result, he said, the type of aircraft operated by Lion Air was different from Alaska Airlines.

"It's finished, it's allowed to fly again. Because the types are different. The door system is different from the Alaskan one. We have inspections, communication with Lion and Boeing, have flown again," he said at the DPR Building, Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Thursday, January 18.

Furthermore, Adita said Lion Air's permit to operate the Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft had been issued four days ago.

It was released 3-4 days ago. Because the temporary ground was only a few days away, we inspected the field, coordinated with Boeing and we saw no problems," he explained.

As previously reported, the Ministry of Transportation banned Lion Air from using Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft for its flight operations.

This ban was issued by the Ministry of Transportation following reports about the release of the emergency exit door of the Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft belonging to Alaska Airlines which occurred on January 5, 2024.

Direktur Jenderal Perhubungan Udara M. Kristi Endah Murni mengatakan larangan sementara penggunaan pesawat Boeing 737-9 MAX ini bertujuan untuk melakukan review lebih jauh terkait dengan aspek keselamatan masyarakat.

"Based on a review and evaluation by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and coordination with Lion Air, it was decided to stop the temporary grounded operation of the Boeing 737-9 Max aircraft from January 6, 2024, until further developments," he said in an official statement, Monday, January 8.

Kristi said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation would then coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States Region Asia Pacific, Boeing and Lion Air to continue to monitor the situation.

"And we will provide more information along with the development of the situation. Safety and safety of flight operations remain our priority," he said.