* Map of Papua region: http://link.reuters.com/nak45w
By Allison Lampert and Allison Martell
MONTREAL/TORONTO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia scored poorly
on a 2014 safety audit by the United Nations' aviation agency
largely because its Ministry of Transportation is understaffed,
said two sources familiar with the matter, as the country
struggles to cope with the rapid expansion of air travel.
Indonesia's patchy aviation safety record worsened on Sunday
when a passenger plane crashed in eastern Papua province with 54
people aboard, the third major plane crash this year in the
Southeast Asian archipelago.
The U.N.'s Montreal-based International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) sets safety standards for international
flights. Its audits evaluate countries' ability to oversee their
airlines, including how well they conform to those standards.
Indonesia's government has struggled to hire and train staff
quickly enough to oversee its fast-growing aviation market,
which the International Air Transport Association expects to
triple in size by 2034.
"Until they resolve this they cannot do the same level of
supervision and certifications as a country with a robust system
in place," one of the sources said.
Since the 2014 audit, Indonesia has come up with a plan to
address its problems, the source said.
"They have been very active in developing their plan," the
source said. "They are making progress."
But ICAO's auditors would not return to check on the
country's progress or run a fresh assessment until the majority
of problems found in a previous audit have been fixed.
Indonesian officials based in Canada could not be reached
for comment. ICAO did not immediately comment.
The Montreal-based ICAO publishes audit scores online, but
typically does not disclose the specific problems behind the
scores.
In the audit carried out in May 2014, Indonesia scored below
the global average in each of eight categories. The vast
majority of countries score above average on at least some
categories.
Its lowest score was for "organization", at 20 percent,
where the global average is 64 percent. "Accident investigation"
was 31 percent, compared with an average of 55 percent. Its best
score was for "airworthiness", at 61 percent, compared with an
average of 74 percent.
But the audit did not flag any specific "significant safety
concerns", the most serious problems. Thailand's most recent
audit, for example, uncovered significant safety concerns,
prompting several nearby countries to stop its airlines from
adding new routes.
In January, an AirAsia AIRA.KL flight went down in the
Java Sea off Indonesia, killing all 162 aboard. In June, more
than 100 people died in the crash of a military transport plane,
prompting Indonesia's president to promise a review of the
ageing air force fleet.
(Editing by Josephine Mason and Stuart Grudgings)