AirAsia wasn't supposed to fly to Singapore ​on day of crash: Indonesia

SINGAPORE: Indonesia said AirAsia wasn't authorised to fly to Singapore the day its jet crashed and halted the route pending an investigation, raising questions about the enforcement of regulations. AirAsia was only permitted to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on four days of the week, not including Sunday when the accident occurred, Indonesia's transport ministry said on January 2. Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority issued a statement the next day saying that while it had authorised the airline to run daily flights during the winter season, carriers need to get separate permission from authorities at each point on their route.

If AirAsia flew on a day when it wasn't permitted, “the onus falls not only on the airline but also on the regulator“, Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation research firm Endau Analytics, said by phone on January 3 from Johor.