T

he Singaporean government seems unwilling to return control over Indonesia's airspace in the Riau Islands province, for economic and strategic reasons, a Batam airport official says.

Based on the 2009 Flight Law, Indonesia's airspace over Riau Islands should be returned to Indonesia, Tevi Amir, the chief air traffic controller at Batam's Hang Nadim Airport, said Tuesday.

The airspace over the province had been under Singaporean control for around 10 years because of the limited capacity of Indonesia's radar systems, but this issue was no longer relevant, Tevi said.

"The Transportation Ministry, through the Directorate General of Air Transportation, will take the issue to the annual International Civil Aviation Organization *ICAO* meeting in Hong Kong next year."

The airspace over Riau Islands has been managed by Singapore since 1999, generating significant revenue for Indonesia, Tevi said. Singapore collects Flight Information Region (FIR) service fees from planes passing over Indonesian territories, which it hands over to PT Angkasa Pura II on an annual basis, he said.

"But we do not know how many planes pass through our airspace. Indonesia only receives fees from Singapore. We wish Indonesia could handle the matter independently."

Batam's Hang Nadim Airport chief Hendro Harijono shared a similar view, because based on the 2009 Flight Law, all airspace over the Riau Islands province should come under one FIR. However, the issue has also been hampered by border issues between Indonesia and Singapore.

"The ICAO has also requested that the borders between both countries be clarified. This is the duty of the Foreign Ministry. If we are serious about the FIR, we must resolve the border issues. The airspace control is also important for the sake of our sovereignty and to test our *military* capabilities," Hendro said.

Technically, Indonesia should control the airspace over Riau Islands, Hendro said. It should be equipped with primary and secondary radars, worth around Rp 40 billion each (around US$4 million), to detect any (metal) objects flying over the territory. So far, none of the airports in Riau Islands are equipped with such devices, hence communication between planes and airports has relied on radio.

In August, a small plane carrying Riau Islands Governor Ismeth Abdullah was forced to circle for two hours after going off-course into a neighboring province, before it eventually landed safely.