Indonesia to probe local airline after two pilots fell asleep during flight

Indonesia's Transport Ministry said on March 9 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 approximately 28 minutes during a flight from Southeast Sulawesi to the capital 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 flight, which lasted two hours and 35 minutes.

The Transport Ministry "strongly reprimands" Batik Air over the incident, air transport director-general M. Kristi Endah Murni said, calling on airlines to pay more attention to their air crew's rest time.