Lion Air and AirAsia, two Indonesian low-cost carriers, will have to halt operations of their ground services at some airports due to recent passenger mismanagement, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

The Indonesian Transportation Ministry suspended the ground-handling permits of both airlines with Lion Air at Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta, and AirAsia at Ngurah Rai airport in Bali.

The sanction, taking effect from May 22, will not affect the airlines’ flight schedules. Lion Air and AirAsia have been given five days to find an operator for their ground services.

On May 10, a bus transporting 40 Lion Air passengers from Singapore was misdirected to the domestic Terminal 1 instead of the international Terminal 2, resulting in at least 16 passengers skipping immigration checks.

On May 16, 47 passengers travelling on AirAsia flight QZ509 from Singapore to Bali were also transported to exit the airport via a domestic terminal.

This marked the second time in a week that international passengers to Indonesia arrived via domestic terminals.

- Bernama