Garuda Indonesia the safety reforms already undertaken were a step in the right direction for the EU to consider lifting the ban, but still did not satisfy the EU's aviation safety standards, and thus, did not lift its ban. The ban was lifted in July 2009, after which Garuda began evaluating service to Amsterdam and other European destinations, as well as the United States. Following the lifting of the EU ban against Garuda Indonesia and three other Indonesian carriers, the airline announced in July 2009 an aggressive five-year expansion plan known as the "Quantum Leap". The plan involved an image overhaul, including
Garuda Indonesia Vishnoe's vogel, die zijn vleugels uitslaat hoog boven uw eilanden"", which means "I'm Garuda, Vishnu's Bird, that spreads its wings high above the Islands". In Hindu tradition, Garuda is the name of Lord Vishnu's mount ("vahana"). The line was mentioned by Sukarno during the Dutch–Indonesian Round Table Conference at The Hague, from 23 August to 2 November 1949. In its current institutional form, Garuda Indonesia had its beginnings in the Indonesian war of independence against the Dutch in the late 1940s, when Garuda flew special transports with a Douglas DC-3. The first aircraft was a DC-3 known as "Seulawah" (Acehnese: