REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - A bankrupt Indonesian private airline, Batavia Air, suffers 1.27 trillion IDR debt to passengers, employees, business partners and banks according to the trustees appointed to deal with the airline. The number can increase as the trustees still calculate the total debts to its creditors until March 14.

"Batavia Air claimed that they had 900 billion IDR debt. It is more than that," one of the trustees of Batavia Air, Turman S Panggabean, said on Monday. 

According to the current data, the company's biggest debt is to the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) worth 500 billion IDR. It purchased a fleet from ILFC in a plan to serve hajj pilgrims but it failed in the bidding process. Batavia also loaned 240 billlion IDR to banks, 130 billion IDR to supplier, 95 billion IDR to passengers and 50 billion IDR to stakeholders.

Panggabean said that Batavia Air claimed it still had 800 billion IDR of assets. The trustees found out that the assets had become collateral for its debt to banks. He said that the trustees still had to verify this.

Speaking about the employees, Panggabean said their contracts were cut immediately after the company was declared bankrupt. But some of them still works to help the trustees.

A member of Commission V at the House of Representatives, Sigit Sosiantomo, said government must made a mechanism that guaranteed the right of airlines in Indonesia. The mechanism is expected to protect the employees, passengers and travel agents.

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