In a statement, a ministry official noted on Wednesday that the transport ministry of Indonesia grounded not less than five small airlines earlier this week as they failed to meet safety standards. According to Budi Mulyawan Suyitno, the director general of air transportation, the transport ministry had given Helizona, SMAC, Asco Nusa Air, Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines and Dirgantara Air Service a notice period of three months to comply with minimum safety standards.

Suyitno observed, "Those airlines, with small planes for rent, didn't meet safety standards. If within three months they don't show any improvement we will revoke their air operator's certificate."

According to Suyitno, the present move by the ministry is part of an on-going process to considerably improve the safety standards of Indonesian airlines. For instance, in the month of March, Adam Air, the Indonesian budget carrier that suffered a series of accidents and showed a default in debt payments was grounded for safety concerns. Following the liberalization, the airline industry of Indonesia has grown rapidly during the past decade, with several new players entering the arena besides a wider choice of routes available across the archipelago.

But the recent years proved to be highly disastrous for the airline industry of Indonesia with a series of accidents, which have raised the concerns regarding the safety standards, even persuading the EU to ban all Indonesian Airlines from its airspace. In January 2007, an Adam Air plane crashed into the sea off the Sulawesi Island killing all the 102 people onboard. In March 2007, a Garuda plane skidded off the runway, killing 21 people.