Govt Tightens Rules on Use of Foreign Pilots by Indonesian Airlines
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Govt Tightens Rules on Use of Foreign Pilots by Indonesian Airlines
Indonesia's Transportation Ministry has tightened the requirements for the use of foreign pilots by Indonesian airlines, a ministry release said on Monday.
"The move has been taken in the context of improving aviation safety, especially to prevent a number of air incidents, including serious ones, involving foreign pilots," the ministry said in the press release.
The National Committee for Transportation Safety in December said that the Sukhoi Superjet crash that killed all 45 people on board during a demonstration flight in May was due to the foreign pilot's unfamiliarity with the terrain of West Java’s Mount Salak.
In mid-October, a Sriwijaya Air plane carrying 96 passengers landed at Tabing airbase in Padang, West Sumatra, 12 km from its intended destination of Padang airport. A ministry spokesman called it a "serious" breach of safety, though the landing was normal, and its foreign pilot was suspended pending investigations.
The ministry said that foreign pilots should have the appropriate flying hours for the type of aircraft they pilot.
"The transportation minister, in this case the air transportation directorate general, is requiring that foreign pilots wishing to apply for an Indonesian license or to validate theirs should have at least 250 flying hours for the specific aircraft they want to fly," the ministry said.
Airline operators wishing to use foreign pilots should also meet all requirements, including meeting the minimum flying hours requirement, when applying for validation or endorsement with the air transportation directorate general.
The release said that the new requirement took effect as of Jan 10.
Some 600 foreign pilots are currently estimated to be working with Indonesian airlines such as Lion Air, Citilink, Garuda Indonesia, Wings Air and Sriwijaya Air.
In 2011, 650 Indonesian pilots for Garuda Indonesia went on strike over wage inequality between Indonesian and foreign pilots. Following the strike, Garuda announced it planned to only use Indonesian pilots in the future. But in August 2012, Garuda said that as the airline wanted to add more jets to serve its regional and international routes, it was looking to use foreign pilots again.
"The move has been taken in the context of improving aviation safety, especially to prevent a number of air incidents, including serious ones, involving foreign pilots," the ministry said in the press release.
The National Committee for Transportation Safety in December said that the Sukhoi Superjet crash that killed all 45 people on board during a demonstration flight in May was due to the foreign pilot's unfamiliarity with the terrain of West Java’s Mount Salak.
In mid-October, a Sriwijaya Air plane carrying 96 passengers landed at Tabing airbase in Padang, West Sumatra, 12 km from its intended destination of Padang airport. A ministry spokesman called it a "serious" breach of safety, though the landing was normal, and its foreign pilot was suspended pending investigations.
The ministry said that foreign pilots should have the appropriate flying hours for the type of aircraft they pilot.
"The transportation minister, in this case the air transportation directorate general, is requiring that foreign pilots wishing to apply for an Indonesian license or to validate theirs should have at least 250 flying hours for the specific aircraft they want to fly," the ministry said.
Airline operators wishing to use foreign pilots should also meet all requirements, including meeting the minimum flying hours requirement, when applying for validation or endorsement with the air transportation directorate general.
The release said that the new requirement took effect as of Jan 10.
Some 600 foreign pilots are currently estimated to be working with Indonesian airlines such as Lion Air, Citilink, Garuda Indonesia, Wings Air and Sriwijaya Air.
In 2011, 650 Indonesian pilots for Garuda Indonesia went on strike over wage inequality between Indonesian and foreign pilots. Following the strike, Garuda announced it planned to only use Indonesian pilots in the future. But in August 2012, Garuda said that as the airline wanted to add more jets to serve its regional and international routes, it was looking to use foreign pilots again.
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Great.. Now the only oasis of global pilot job had vanished into thin air.. I wonder how local LCC's gonna sustain the expansion, and wait another 2 years for local cadet to be ready..
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Aeroflyer graduates who were once destined to go to Batavia are now free to apply to other airlines as far as I know. Wings Flying School are still churning out cadets for Wings and Lion Air at a steady rate. Sriwijaya also have their own flight school and have been in operation for almost 2 years now. Then you have Merpati Pilot School producing cadets for both their own and private students. BIFA has been producing cadet pilots at a phenomenal rate; I've heard of zero to hero in 12 months there and they have an agreement with Garuda and Indonesia Air Asia to supply graduate pilots. And then you have the private non-airline affiliated part 141 schools, like Lombok Institute Flight Academy, and Nusa International. And of course the national flying school, STPI whose cadet pilots mostly end up in Garuda.
The glory days of 200 hour foreign CPL holders coming to Indonesia to get a start in an airline are well and truly over. And it was never meant to be long term anyway. Those who were here from the start knew that very well, as it was quite a major hurdle just to get the ministry of manpower to approve a work visa in the first place. It was only given on the condition that once Indonesia has suitable candidates to fill the jobs, then your approval will cease.
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I wonder what is going to happen to those poor puppies that spent Mommy an Daddy's money on their whims.
Better yet, will Eagle and Falcon refund funds for default if not allowed to get their right seat time?
Better yet, will Eagle and Falcon refund funds for default if not allowed to get their right seat time?
Last edited by captjns; 22nd Jan 2013 at 04:34.
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the Problem wont be getting the FO's its getting Captains it takes longer than 2 years to get the time and experience to get promotion. Normally that why the Airlines bring in Foreign Capts until enough Local FO ready to go up.
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The government cites safety as the main reason behind this new legislation.
Please! New local pilots attain their "CPL" with only 150hrs total time, all of which are flown on C172. They never touch a multi-engine aircraft until they do their TR on a Boeing 737 or ATR
Talk about steep learning curve!
Please tell me how this is so much safer?
Please! New local pilots attain their "CPL" with only 150hrs total time, all of which are flown on C172. They never touch a multi-engine aircraft until they do their TR on a Boeing 737 or ATR
Talk about steep learning curve!Please tell me how this is so much safer?
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Its seems strange that 250 hrs rule that the Indonesian government has put in place..has a big following in this section and other sections in Pprune. First whinging about P2F and now P2F is no more.. whinging about 250hrs.
Since most people hate flying here and living here.
Trust me there are worst place places to work than Indonesia..ex.. china, korea (North and South), thailand, vietnam, Russia and europe
haha...
Mach 79... I dont have a axe to grind with expat... I just saying by what the general public, and local pilots are saying about expat pilots in Indonesia. I know, my dear.. truth hurt.
By the way, just a reminder as expat pilot, we are not wanted or loved to the country we are employed too...we are not god gift to aviation..or the savour of the nation, we are contract workers that all. Do the job and get out or thrown out. I am expat pilot for many years.. why do I have axe to grind..
here is AN ARTICLE... from a local newpaper...
Govt tightens up employment of foreign pilots
In a bid to improve aviation safety in the country, the Transportation Ministry has recently issued a new regulation requiring domestic carriers to only hire foreign pilots with a minimum 250 hours of flying time.
Should a local airline wish to hire a pilot to fly an Airbus plane, he or she must have 250 flight hours on that type of plane.
Bambang S. Ervan, the ministry spokesman, said the new regulation was aimed at preventing serious incidents involving foreign pilots.
“This is in anticipation of any aviation incident in the country, especially those involving foreign pilots. The regulation has been effective since Jan. 10,” Bambang said in Jakarta on Monday.
He said the new regulation was applicable to passenger airlines that bore Air Operator Certificates (AOC) 121 and 135 — scheduled and non-scheduled/chartered flights. “The regulation does not apply to pilots who fly airplanes with a capacity of less than 30 passengers,” he said.
Previously, the Indonesian government had not stipulated a specific amount of flight time for foreign pilots authorized to fly with domestic carriers, only that foreign pilots could work for Indonesian airlines for up to two years.
Most of the pilots, Bambang said, had only around 50-150 hours of flight time before they signed up with Indonesian carriers. “We believe that experienced [foreign] pilots with more flight hours can bring added benefits to our aviation industry before the slots are re-occupied by locals,” he said.
Currently, Bambang said there were some 600 non-national pilots flying with the country’s major operators: Lion Air, Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air, Citilink and Wings Air. The remaining 5,000 pilots are local.
The Indonesian aviation industry is suffering a shortage of local pilots in the face of a rapid fleet expansion by airlines in recent years.
The ministry has allowed airlines to temporarily hire foreign pilots or halt their fleet expansions pending the availability of more local pilots.
According to the ministry, Indonesia needs up to 600 new pilots annually, more than three times the total number of pilots who graduate from the state-run Curug Aviation School in Tangerang, Banten, the Aviation Academy in Surabaya, East Java and 12 other smaller private aviation schools, some of which are affiliated with local carriers.
“We are going to open two more aviation schools this year, in Medan [North Sumatra] and Makassar [South Sulawesi] to increase our capacity to produce local pilots,” Bambang added.
Contacted separately, Edward Sirait, the general affairs director of the country’s largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, said that the new regulation had forced the airline to accelerate its capacity to produce more local pilots. “We plan to establish an aviation training academy in Kalimantan this year in order to keep up with our expanding fleet and the regulation,” Edward said.
Garuda Indonesia vice president of communications Pujobroto said that the regulation did not affect the airline’s plans as it had already limited the use of foreign pilots.
“At the co-pilot level, foreign nationals must have logged a minimum of 500 hours flight time for one type of aircraft before joining Garuda. For a pilot, the figure is 1,000 hours,” Pujobroto said.
He also said that the co-pilots and pilots underwent training twice a year by Garuda in order to improve their skills.
Jakarta Post...Tue, January 22 2013,
Since most people hate flying here and living here. Trust me there are worst place places to work than Indonesia..ex.. china, korea (North and South), thailand, vietnam, Russia and europe
haha... Mach 79... I dont have a axe to grind with expat... I just saying by what the general public, and local pilots are saying about expat pilots in Indonesia. I know, my dear.. truth hurt.
By the way, just a reminder as expat pilot, we are not wanted or loved to the country we are employed too...we are not god gift to aviation..or the savour of the nation, we are contract workers that all. Do the job and get out or thrown out. I am expat pilot for many years.. why do I have axe to grind..
here is AN ARTICLE... from a local newpaper...
Govt tightens up employment of foreign pilots
In a bid to improve aviation safety in the country, the Transportation Ministry has recently issued a new regulation requiring domestic carriers to only hire foreign pilots with a minimum 250 hours of flying time.
Should a local airline wish to hire a pilot to fly an Airbus plane, he or she must have 250 flight hours on that type of plane.
Bambang S. Ervan, the ministry spokesman, said the new regulation was aimed at preventing serious incidents involving foreign pilots.
“This is in anticipation of any aviation incident in the country, especially those involving foreign pilots. The regulation has been effective since Jan. 10,” Bambang said in Jakarta on Monday.
He said the new regulation was applicable to passenger airlines that bore Air Operator Certificates (AOC) 121 and 135 — scheduled and non-scheduled/chartered flights. “The regulation does not apply to pilots who fly airplanes with a capacity of less than 30 passengers,” he said.
Previously, the Indonesian government had not stipulated a specific amount of flight time for foreign pilots authorized to fly with domestic carriers, only that foreign pilots could work for Indonesian airlines for up to two years.
Most of the pilots, Bambang said, had only around 50-150 hours of flight time before they signed up with Indonesian carriers. “We believe that experienced [foreign] pilots with more flight hours can bring added benefits to our aviation industry before the slots are re-occupied by locals,” he said.
Currently, Bambang said there were some 600 non-national pilots flying with the country’s major operators: Lion Air, Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air, Citilink and Wings Air. The remaining 5,000 pilots are local.
The Indonesian aviation industry is suffering a shortage of local pilots in the face of a rapid fleet expansion by airlines in recent years.
The ministry has allowed airlines to temporarily hire foreign pilots or halt their fleet expansions pending the availability of more local pilots.
According to the ministry, Indonesia needs up to 600 new pilots annually, more than three times the total number of pilots who graduate from the state-run Curug Aviation School in Tangerang, Banten, the Aviation Academy in Surabaya, East Java and 12 other smaller private aviation schools, some of which are affiliated with local carriers.
“We are going to open two more aviation schools this year, in Medan [North Sumatra] and Makassar [South Sulawesi] to increase our capacity to produce local pilots,” Bambang added.
Contacted separately, Edward Sirait, the general affairs director of the country’s largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, said that the new regulation had forced the airline to accelerate its capacity to produce more local pilots. “We plan to establish an aviation training academy in Kalimantan this year in order to keep up with our expanding fleet and the regulation,” Edward said.
Garuda Indonesia vice president of communications Pujobroto said that the regulation did not affect the airline’s plans as it had already limited the use of foreign pilots.
“At the co-pilot level, foreign nationals must have logged a minimum of 500 hours flight time for one type of aircraft before joining Garuda. For a pilot, the figure is 1,000 hours,” Pujobroto said.
He also said that the co-pilots and pilots underwent training twice a year by Garuda in order to improve their skills.
Jakarta Post...Tue, January 22 2013,
Last edited by jetjockey696; 22nd Jan 2013 at 08:13.
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“The regulation does not apply to pilots who fly airplanes with a capacity of less than 30 passengers,” he said.
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How many Dutch cadets still flying for Lion Air on the 900ER? How long was the typical contract terms (or hours) for the cadets?
Probably a good experience for the cadets as long as they were willing to pay through the nose for it (both 737NG experience and interesting culture/destinations). Looking beyond the PFT issue and opinions of exploitation, the entire situation sounded like a symbiotic relationship - the cadets got the training and experience with few Euro jobs available and the airlines got pilots to fly their shiny, new airplanes since locals were not yet available. I imagine that 1-3 years of 737-900ER experience flying around SE Asia would prepare you well for Euro LCC flying - if there are job openings and your 737 type/experience is valued.
Probably a good experience for the cadets as long as they were willing to pay through the nose for it (both 737NG experience and interesting culture/destinations). Looking beyond the PFT issue and opinions of exploitation, the entire situation sounded like a symbiotic relationship - the cadets got the training and experience with few Euro jobs available and the airlines got pilots to fly their shiny, new airplanes since locals were not yet available. I imagine that 1-3 years of 737-900ER experience flying around SE Asia would prepare you well for Euro LCC flying - if there are job openings and your 737 type/experience is valued.
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It's neither, its a card played by the someone with a strong hold in the industry (here in Indonesia) to throw the agents and their airline associates off their game.
'Its all about the money'
'Its all about the money'
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Foreign Pilots losing out in Indonesia?
Indeed, Dragon Lady Susi may be safe but that would only be because of who she knows and the strings she can have pulled. Her true wish if you read the likes of Femina magazine and such, is that there be a LOT more female Indonesian pilots. That is also in line with NWO directives worldwide to have more women in positions of authority and command everywhere, in every industry and capacity.
That aside, look to the Bandung Pilot Academy which is operating with an amazingingly obscure funding scheme out of... well, Bandung AND they say Nusawiru, Cijulang and Cilacap. CHeck them out. They offer well-heeled Indonesian young people (the snotty, "sombong" equivalent of Susi's middle to upperclass white boys) the opportunity to become aero-BUS drivers for about Rupiah 250 million.
Try getting on at BPA, maybe they have open training slots !
IF
That aside, look to the Bandung Pilot Academy which is operating with an amazingingly obscure funding scheme out of... well, Bandung AND they say Nusawiru, Cijulang and Cilacap. CHeck them out. They offer well-heeled Indonesian young people (the snotty, "sombong" equivalent of Susi's middle to upperclass white boys) the opportunity to become aero-BUS drivers for about Rupiah 250 million.
Try getting on at BPA, maybe they have open training slots !
IF
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Hi,
is this your opinion or do you have some source/evidence for this? You can also pm me if you don't want to post it public.
The rule will be changed very very soon...