Fatal AirAsia flight violated route permit: Indonesian Transport Ministry
21:29, 3 January 2015
JAKARTA. KAZINFORM - AirAsia's flight QZ8501 that crashed in the Java Sea on its way from Surabaya to Singapore last Sunday did not have the proper authorization to fly this route, Sputnik reported on Saturday, citing a spokesman for Indonesia's transport ministry.
"AirAsia has committed a violation of the route that has been given to them," transport ministry spokesman J.A. Barata told the newspaper.
According to Barata, AirAsia previously had a permission to fly daily flights from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore but received a new permit in October, allowing it to fly this route only on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The airline's flights along the route have now been suspended.
AirAsia's Airbus A320-200, carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members, vanished off radars some 40 minutes after takeoff on December 28 and crashed into the Java Sea. The black boxes from the plane are yet to be found.