Legal Protection for the Passenger when the Airplane Company is Stated Bankrupt

The status of the passengers when the airplane company stated bankrupt is unsecured creditors. One of aspects that become concern in this bankruptcy case is the unfulfillment of the legal protection for the passengers who suffer losses that occurred as the result of the bankruptcy decision.

From some of the Articles that related with the aircraft carrier responsibilities towards passengers or passengers who already have a flight ticket, basically already looks very protect the interests of passengers and provide a clear legal certainty for passengers. However, when the aircraft companies are faced with the problem of which Metro Batavia Limited Liability Company is bankrupted, the State would guarantee legal certainty passengers as mentioned in some of the above Articles be shifted or no longer provide legal certainty related with the loss to the passengers, because when Metro Batavia Limited Liability Company is bankrupted thus the bankruptcy verdict will be prevailed with respect to the Act No. 37 of 2004 of Bankruptcy Act, no longer the Act No. 1 of 2009 of Aviation or Ministry of Transportations Decree No. 77 of 2011.

Bankruptcy law is intended to give a good and balanced treatment to the Creditor. The creditor with the same rank should receive the same treatment and avoided from discriminatory action. Bankruptcy law is very supporting balanced manner, not a race where the creditors are paid first come first charge and paid the entire bill.

From the above description it can be concluded that the only creditors who have security interest, or the creditor who become privileged creditors because appointed by the Act.

Batavia bankruptcy case is a case that is in conflict with the interests of thousands of passengers. Batavia Air passengers who have bought tickets can only bite their finger because the maintenance company turned to the curator thus the bankruptcy verdict is prevailed. The passengers want to refund the ticket, however Batavia Air offices are already closed. In the first creditors meeting on February 15, 2013, the curator of Metro Batavia Limited Liability Company said that the passengers of Batavia Air is positioned as concurrent creditors. Referring to the Act No.1 of 2009 of Aviation and the Ministry of Transportations Decree No. 77 of 2011 of Air Transport Carrier Liability, consumers also get insurance worth Rp 300.000 due to the flight being delayed more than three hours. This Batavia's bankruptcy case that associated with debt settlement is contradict with the other regulations, especially the Act No. 1 of 2009 of Aviation and the Ministry of Transportations Decree No. 77 of 2011 of Air Transport Carrier Liability.

Actually the Act No. 8 of 1999 on Consumer Protection in general has also regulated the passengers’ rights. Specifically in Article 16 states that the company cannot break its promise to the consumer.

Declared bankrupt or not by the commercial court, in fact the company must still performs its obligations to the consumers, rather than ignore or make the last priority to refund the consumers' ticket who have already purchased. The treatment to the consumers should be on the top priority, refer to the aircraft company is a public service company. The principle of consumer sovereignty means the consumers have the power in a particular industry companies that are engaged in public service. Even though the State acknowledging the consumer sovereignty, the status of the consumer is not sovereign in the face of bankruptcy. This bankruptcy law looks like derogates the interests of the consumer that have been recognized by the State Consumer Protection Act. In the bankruptcy law, rights of ticket holders of Batavia air are very far from protected.