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Garuda Indonesia battles cabin crew abuse allegations after ‘Harleygate’ crisis
- Last week, the country’s flagship airline fired its CEO over allegations he had evaded tax by using a brand new jet to smuggle a classic motorbike
- Now it faces fresh accusations of mismanagement and employee mistreatment, including the alleged ‘pimping’ out of stewardesses
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Indonesia’s flagship carrier has been dogged by fresh accusations of mismanagement in recent weeks, from an executive “pimping” out female flight attendants, to cabin crew being forced to work unpaid overtime and employees being grounded without reason.
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These follow the unceremonious sacking of Garuda Indonesia’s CEO Ari Askhara last week after he was accused of smuggling a Harley-Davidson motorbike into the country, evading taxes of up to 532 million to 1.5 billion rupiah (US$38,000-107,300).
The classic Harley Shovelhead and two high-end Brompton folding bicycles were found in the cargo hold of a brand new Airbus jet being flown in from Toulouse, France. Askhara, who has not commented on the allegations, was on board the jet with 21 others, and a manifest that showed the cargo hold was empty.
There has been hardly any sympathy for Askhara, 48, who joined the airline last September as its president director, despite Garuda – which the Indonesian government holds a majority stake in – returning to profit in the first quarter of this year after earlier losses.
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Instead, congratulatory notes and flowers were sent to State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir, who announced Askhara’s removal.
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