Garuda finally awarded IATA safety clearance

Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has finally received safety clearance following a stringent audit conducted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), president director Emir Syah Satar said Thursday.

"The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) for Garuda was approved on May 14 and will be presented during the IATA annual general meeting in Istanbul on June 1-3," said Emir.

"We expect the European Union to refer to the audit result during their session on flight ban in July."

The EU has banned all Indonesian airlines from entering the bloc's airspace even though none of the airlines actually serve European routes.

The government has proposed four airlines to be exempted from the flight ban. In addition to Garuda, the airlines are Mandala Airlines, which has committed to buying a large number of European Airbus jetliners, and chartered airlines Airfast and Premiair.