On whether budget airlines are unsafe because they cut corners to offer cheap fares, SMU Assistant Professor of Strategic Management Terence Fan said: "The country of registration of the airline is ultimately responsible for enforcing safety regulations. Some countries are noted to do better on this than others. Many Indonesian carriers, for instance, had until recently been banned from flying to the European Union because of safety concerns." He added that if the intention is to tighten maintenance regulations or pilot training, they (the authorities) can do so directly. Telling airlines that they cannot sell cheap tickets may prevent excessive price competition but is no guarantee that safety will be boosted, he stressed. "Such regulations are also difficult to implement and enforce," Assistant Prof Fan said.