The Indonesian government will begin enforcing a nearly 20-year-old regulation requiring airplane passengers to show an ID during check-in at airline counters.

"Airlines must implement the policy, stipulated in a 1989 Transportation Ministry decree, by March 31 or face sanctions," Air Transportation Director General M. Ikhsan Tatang said Saturday during a discussion at the ministry.

"The decree is aimed at avoiding deviations between the manifest and the actual passengers aboard an airplane," the Jakarta Post daily Sunday quoted Ikhsan as saying.

Ikhsan said the regulation was meant to improve security and facilitate the insurance claims process in the event of an accident, by ensuring the names printed on tickets matched those on ID cards.

He said a public awareness campaign was needed to ensure public participation in showing IDs at check-in counters, as regulators did not have authority over passengers.

However, the ministry can punish airlines that fail to ensure compliance with the regulation, including imposing various sanctions, from issuing warnings to revoking operational licenses, " said Ikhsan.

Some passengers in Indonesia have refused to cooperate with the regulation, and there is an impression some people feel it insulting to have to produce an ID card at the check-in counter.

"Many state officials have refused to show their IDs as they think they deserve special treatment," the secretary-general of the National Air Carriers Association, Tengku Burhanuddin, said.

"Officials should set a good example for the public," he added.

Source: Xinhua