Safety issues hound Asia’s low-cost air travel trade

Dozens of new air carriers have been popping up across Asia to meet the industry’s booming demand, but a string of deadly accidents has raised fresh concerns about safety—from pilot shortages to the quality of budget airlines.

The Indonesian pilot of the One-Two-Go Airlines plane that crash-landed on Thailand’s resort island of Phuket—one of 90 people to die on Sunday—was among scores who have fled their home countries in recent years for better paying jobs with cut-price carriers.

The former Air Force pilot worked for two now-defunct airlines in Indonesia, including one owned by former dictator Suharto’s son, according to a colleague, who said he was not authorized to speak to the press.

But Indonesia, the country with Asia’s worst aviation record, still has 51 carriers, up from a dozen several years ago, the most vivid example of how rapidly the industry is exploding in the world’s largest region.

Manila Standard Today, Philippines