Citilink to Name New Boss By End of March
Jakarta. Garuda Indonesia, the nation's flag carrier, is set to announce a new head of its subsidiary, Citilink Indonesia, on March 30 following the resignation of the budget airline's top executive last month, Garuda president director Arif Wibowo said on Thursday (23/03).
"[The new president director] will be announced at a general meeting of shareholders next week," Arif said.
Arif, however, did not confirm whether the company already has a name prepared for the position.
Citilink's new head will replace Albert Burhan, who resigned on Feb. 1 following an incident in late December last year, when Tekad Purna, a pilot for the budget airline, reported for duty intoxicated.
Tekad was scheduled to pilot flight QC 800 from Surabaya, East Java, to Jakarta on Dec. 28 when passengers demanded he be replaced due to his drunken appearance.
Albert expressed hope that the new Citilink leader will demonstrate leadership abilities and improve the company's image in the wake of the recent scandal.
Citilink expects to increase its total passenger count this year by 25 percent, an ambitious projection compared to last year's passenger growth of only 7 percent.
Days after the incident, Albert held a press conference and condemned the pilot's actions, which he said constituted a "severe violation." Citilink eventually fired Tekad for his misconduct.
Tekad's case led the Transportation Ministry to conduct several follow-up investigations into other airlines that were found to ignore the country's regulations regarding pre-flight standard operating procedures. The ministry has yet to disclose which airlines have been found to break the rules in the investigations.
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