Today, Indonesia grounded nine airlines after they failed to meet safety requirements. Some of the airlines were suspended and the other's operating licenses were revoked.

"The air operating license of Jatayu Gelang Sejahtera has been revoked after it failed to meet minimum safety regulations," the official, who identified herself as Fitri, told AFP.

She said this was the largest company to lose its license among four. The others were Aviasi Upataraksa, Alfa Trans Dirgantara and Prodexim, which have aircraft that carry fewer than 30 passengers.

Fitri said authorities had also suspended the licenses of five other small airlines, all with planes seating under 30 passengers, and given them three months to improve their safety standards.

These were Germania Trisila Air, Atlas Delta Setia, Survey Udara Penas, Kura-kura Aviation and SMAC.

The groundings follow the transport ministry's latest quarterly review of airline safety and comes after a series of accidents in Indonesia's rapidly growing airline industry.

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