JAKARTA - Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Dudy Purwagandhimeminta international airlines that have destinations or cross the Middle East region to increase vigilance.
The appeal was made following the escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel and its allies, the United States, which began to have an impact on the operations of a number of flights.
"Some international flights passing through the Middle East region are also affected, some are canceled, but there are trips that are currently not affected. For this reason, we urge airlines to increase vigilance and passengers to actively monitor information developments," he said in an official statement, Sunday, March 1.
For information, a number of foreign airlines have reportedly canceled or stopped flight operations to and from cities in the Middle East since the Iran-Israel conflict has heated up.
The airlines affected include Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Philippine Airlines, IndiGo Airlines, SriLankan Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Scoot.
Meanwhile, Saudia Airlines is still monitoring a number of destination cities in the Middle East. Oman Air is reported to operate as usual. As for Ethiopian Airlines, it is still operating, but does not serve flights to Amman (Jordan) and Tel Aviv (Israel).
Domestically, two national airlines that cross the Middle East airspace, namely Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air, are currently not directly affected. Transportation Minister Dudy said flights to Jeddah were still running normally, while Garuda Indonesia's route to Amsterdam was diverted via Cairo, Egypt.
Dudy emphasized that flight safety and security remained the top priority. The Ministry of Transportation continues to coordinate with AirNav Indonesia, airlines, airport managers, and foreign authorities to update security information in the Middle East and ensure the smooth running of flights.
As the situation develops, a number of countries have closed their airspace to all flights, both commercial and private, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Syria.
"We have coordinated and asked the airline to monitor the conditions of the Middle East airspace, including for umrah travel," he said.
Dudy also asked airlines and airport managers to provide handling to passengers affected by flight cancellations and adjustments according to the applicable procedures, including the cancellation process of travel documents in the immigration area, accommodation arrangements, and flight rescheduling.
On the other hand, Dudy ensured that flight operations at all airports in Indonesia, especially international routes, continued to run safely and smoothly, both in the departure and arrival processes for passengers.
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