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Jakarta - Indonesia's transport ministry has cracked down on the sale of cheap tickets for domestic flights to ensure airlines do not cut corners on safety, authorities say.
The decision to tighten the rules on bargain fares came into effect on 30 December, two days after AirAsia's flight QZ8501 crashed en route from Indonesia's second-biggest city of Surabaya to Singapore. There were no survivors among the 162 people on board.
Operational costs
The transport ministry has raised the ticket price floor for economy class domestic flights, according to ministry documents.
The ministry hopes the new rule will help airlines increase their profit margins so they can spend more on safety.
"We want the aviation sector to be healthy, not cheap. If it's cheap, there are many things that might not be done," said Indonesian Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan.
Airlines have to strike a balance between ensuring the safety of passengers and operational costs, Mohammad Alwi, an official at the transport ministry, told a news conference in Jakarta.
Indonesia has one of the world's fastest growth rates in commercial aviation, but its safety record is patchy.
The European Commission in 2007 banned all Indonesia-based airlines from flying to the European Union following a series of accidents.
Ticket pricing
Exemptions to that ban have since been granted to some carriers, including Garuda Indonesia and AirAsia.
Since the Indonesia AirAsia crash, the transport ministry has re-assigned some officials and tightened rules on pre-flight procedures.
Alwi said the rule change on ticket pricing had "no connection with the accident" and that authorities had taken the decision to raise the floor on price sometime earlier.
Under the new rule, airlines will only be able to sell tickets as much as 40% cheaper than the ceiling price set by the ministry. Previously, the price floor was 30%, although the ministry could grant some exemptions.
