Australian passengers were flying on a faulty Indonesian jet for up to a year before it crash, reports this week claim.

All 162 passengers and crew onboard an Indonesia AirAsia plane were killed when it crashed into the Java Sea in 2014.

Now, media investigations allege that it had been flying with a mechanical fault for up to 12 months before the tragedy.

A report into the crash has apparently revealed that the fault with a rudder limiter went unfixed, something experts say would never happen with a more reputable carrier.

Crash investigators had previously determined that the rudder limiter defect was not the sole reason for the crash, blaming the flight crew's reaction to a warning alarm about the fault instead.

Experts also blamed pilot error after protocols were broken by pulling circuit-breakers on part of the aircraft's control system, turning off the autopilot.

There are a lot of questions about the lead-up to the December 2014 crash, including claims that Indonesia AirAsia was not actually approved to fly the route to Singapore that day.

The Australian Transport Workers Union called for a suspension of all Indonesian AirAsia flights in the aftermath of the crash.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) says it has been conducting more spot checks of Indonesian planes in Australia, but some urge the regulator to go further.

There are calls this week for the airline to be banned from Australian airways entirely.

All Indonesian carriers are already banned from flying into the United States, and Europe has black-listed most Indonesian-operated airlines as well.

It means that Indonesia government-owned carrier Garuda can fly to Europe but not the US.

But in Australia, CASA has kept the green light on for Garuda, Indonesian AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia X.

CASA says it believes Indonesia AirAsia’s planes meet the required international operational standards, and that it is not affected by bans in other parts of the world.

AirAsia is yet to comment.