Garuda Indonesia has accused the US State Department of misleading travellers with a warning that urges them to use airlines from other countries when flying to Indonesia.

The airline had complained that an alert posted in the US embassy in Jakarta contained conflicting information and that "a false message is being conveyed to the general public and travel industry as a consequence", a Garuda spokesman said.

The message advised US travellers to avoid Indonesian airlines because of questions about their safety practices and their oversight by Indonesia's Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

A series of accidents - including the Garuda flight that overshot the runway at Yogyakarta last month, killing 21 - has cast safety doubts on Indonesian airlines.