JAKARTA: Indonesia’s transport ministry said on Saturday it would open a probe into local airline Batik Air after two of its pilots were found to have fallen asleep during a recent flight.

A pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for 28 minutes during a flight from South East Sulawesi to Jakarta on Jan 25, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said.

The incident resulted in a series of navigation errors, but the Airbus A320’s 153 passengers and four flight attendants were unharmed during the two-hour-and-35-minute flight.

Batik Air said in a statement on Saturday that it “operates with adequate rest policy” and that it was “committed to implement all safety recommendations”.

The pilots involved in the incident had been temporarily suspended, the statement added.

The KNKT report was uploaded to the agency’s website late last month.

One of the pilots had not rested adequately on the night before the flight, according to the report.

About half an hour after the plane took off, the captain asked permission from his second-in-command to rest for a while, with the request being granted.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2024