Transportation Ministry Demands Explanation For Merpati's Operational Shutdown

Jakarta, Feb 4 (Antara) - The Transportation Ministry has said it has sent a letter requesting an explanation from the management of state-owned carrier Merpati Nusantara Airlines over its decision to temporarily shut down operations in early February 2014, an official revealed. "We want to know the reason behind this decision and which routes will not be serviced anymore," the Transportation Ministry`s Director for Air Transportation Affairs Djoko Murjatmodjo stated on Tuesday. Djoko admitted that the management of Merpati had sent a letter to him informing that it will temporarily halt operations until March 2014. However, Djoko demanded a complete and detailed report on the reasons that will lead to the operational shutdown. Earlier, the Operational Director of Merpati Nusantara Airlines Captain Daryanto had said that the company had decided to temporarily shut down operations due to the declining income, mounting debt for avtur and fuel costs at state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina. "Merpati has come to the point where it can no longer operate as it should," Daryanto said, adding that the fall in customers` trust was also among factors that had contributed to the operational shutdown. He added that the company had earlier reduced the frequency of flights in an effort to solve the debt issue. However, it was not enough as the supplier of avtur, PT Pertamina, had stopped fuel supplies. Daryanto pointed out that Merpati also had internal problems, namely unpaid salaries and pending refunds of tickets to be paid to customers. Merpati is said to have a total debt of Rp6.7 trillion owed to 20 creditors. Debts of state companies, including airport operators Angkasa Pura I and II , Bank Mandiri , energy company Pertamina and insurance company Jasindo totaled Rp2 trillion. The rest includes Rp2.5 trillion in SLA owed to the government and around Rp3.2 trillion in tax owed to other creditors.