Govt Seeks Air Traffic Services Outside Indonesia

The Indonesian government is planning to use the air traffic control (ATC) services of other countries such as the Philippines and India to compliment its own controllers in Jakarta and Makassar to ensure the safety of all international flights in Indonesian airspace.

“Indonesia is seeking backup air traffic control and management services in case its two ATCs fail to work at the same time,” said International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) air traffic management regional officer Kyotaro Harano.

Harano was speaking Wednesday at the “Air Traffic Management Contingency Plan” meeting with the Transportation Ministry, state-owned airport operators PT Angkasa Pura (AP) I and II and officials from various countries.

The meeting is to be held over three days.

“Right now, if the Jakarta ATC was to shut down, then the Makassar ATC could cover its activities and vice versa. But if both failed, no controller could cover them,” Harano told reporters.

“A contingency plan is needed for Indonesia, which has a vast amount of space to monitor, so international flights can continue,” he added.

Jakarta’s area control center, managed by AP II, oversees air traffic for western Indonesia, while the Makassar center in South Sulawesi, managed by AP I, oversees air traffic for Indonesia’s eastern regions.

Air traffic control units coordinate aircraft flight paths both on the ground and in the air to prevent collisions and other accidents. An ATC also provides information to pilots, such as on weather, navigation and “notices to airmen”.

“Both controllers have sophisticated systems. The tragic events surrounding the Indonesian aviation industry in the recent past have had nothing to do with their ATCs,” Harano said.

Critics have highlighted, however, that Indonesia’s ATC at Makassar was unable to detect the missing Adam Air jetliner that plunged into the Sulawesi sea earlier this year.

The ICAO, which is currently providing assistance to Indonesia, said that other countries might follow in the footsteps of Indonesia if its project was a success.

Director General of Air Transportation Budhi M. Suyitno said the main components of an ATC, such as facilities and human resources, could still be disrupted by natural disasters.

“These are earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, tsunamis and fires, among others,” said Bambang Tjahyono, secretary at the directorate general for air transportation.

“To face these inevitable events, an air traffic service (ATS) contingency plan must be prepared and implemented,” he said.

The Transportation Ministry said it hoped the meeting could discuss in more detail the draft to harmonize the implementation of an ATS contingency plan.

The National Transportation Safety and Security Evaluation Team (EKKT), an ad hoc group formed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has previously said that to improve air traffic management, Indonesia should place its ATCs under the supervision of one body.

The chairman of the EKKT, Chappy Hakim, said that after careful examination, the team recommended that Indonesia pursues a single provider policy like those implemented in Australia, the U.S. and Europe.

Chappy said that air traffic in Indonesia was still being managed by five operators. These are AP I, AP II, the Transportation Ministry Technical Unit, the Batam authority and the Singaporean Civil Aviation Authority.

Having a single provider, he added, could ensure better safety controls and coordination to safeguard air traffic against disasters.

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo