Indonesian officials have officially halted search and rescue efforts to locate more victims of the Sriwijaya Air crash, but are continuing their hunt for the Boeing 737-500’s cockpit-voice recorder. The latest update — issued by Indonesian transport minister Budi Karya Sumadi — comes nearly two weeks since the Sriwijaya jet (registered PK-CLC) crashed into the Java Sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta. The aircraft, operating flight SJ182, was carrying 62 passengers and crew members when it plunged into the sea on 9 January. The 737’s flight-data recorder was retrieved on 12 January. Three days later, officials found the casing of the cockpit-voice recorder. To date, more than 325 body parts of victims, along with 55 large fuselage pieces and 68 bags of smaller debris, have been recovered from the crash site. Indonesia’s National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC), which is leading investigations into the crash, says it will continue in its efforts to locate the stricken aircraft’s CVR, which will be crucial in piecing together what led to the crash. The NTSC has successfully downloaded data from the aircraft’s flight-data recorder, which was recovered last week, and is expected to release a preliminary investigation report into the incident by early February. Investigators have disclosed that the aircraft, a former Continental Airlines jet, had been heading in an unexpected direction following take-off from Jakarta to Pontianak, and that it had been intact before crashing into the sea.

Dutch carrier KLM will reportedly suspend 270 flights to the Netherlands after the country’s government imposed new requirements to try to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Various media reports on 20 January that the Amsterdam-based airline will stop operating all of its intercontinental flights as well as some connections between the Dutch capital and other European destinations starting on 22 January. European flights cancelled include those connections where the carrier’s crew must spend a night. “We cannot run the risk of our staff being stranded somewhere. This is why we are stopping all intercontinental flights from Friday & all flights to European destinations where crew members have to spend the night”, KLM reportedly tells Dutch media. Attempts to reach the airline independently were not immediately successful and the airline had not posted an update on its website. On social media, numerous customer questions to the airline about this decision went unanswered. The airline’s official Twitter account responded that the carrier is “awaiting further information”. KLM does not operate domestic services due to the small geographic size of its home country. The Netherlands have been in a lockdown since mid-December, with schools, the hospitality industry and retail stores selling non-essential items closed. On 20 January the government recommended stricter measures to mitigate continued spread of the coronavirus, including a curfew and a temporary ban on flights to South Africa, South American countries and the United Kingdom. It also requires passengers bound for the Netherlands from abroad take a rapid test prior to departure as well as a standard PCR test upon arrival.

The new US administration of President Joe Biden is requiring face coverings be worn on flights for the next 100 days, in a more rigorous attempt to contain exploding coronavirus case counts across the country. On 20 January, Biden signed an executive order called the “100 Days Masking Challenge,” which requires face masks to be worn on all federal property, including national parks, and during interstate travel on public transportation by air, land or sea. It was one of his first official acts after his inauguration earlier in the day. In addition, he is asking state and local leaders as well as business executives to implement mask-wearing in their areas of responsibility. Airlines have been clamoring for such a federal mandate for months, saying it would add weight and enforcement to the mask requirement that US airlines have already implemented. Pilots’ union Air Line Pilots’ Association, International (ALPA) says on 20 January that it supports the president’s move. “Voluntary implementation leaves too much risk of Covid-19 exposure for frontline aviation workers,” the organisation says on its Twitter feed. While most air travellers comply with mask rules, US airlines have had to ban hundreds of passengers for various unruly behaviour that includes refusal to wear face coverings since the coronavirus pandemic’s initial lockdowns in March 2020. Last week, the FAA said that it had seen “a disturbing increase” in disruptions to flights in the past weeks. FAA Administrator Steve Dickson signed an order, in effect through 30 March, enforcing a more stringent policy against passengers who create a disturbance on aircraft that could lead to a safety hazard for aircraft, crew or other customers.