“I want to increase the frequency to 120 aircraft per hour in three to four years. This is reasonable, with the improvements in rapid-exit taxiways, overlay and the construction of a third runway,” he said in Jakarta on Monday.

Budi said his ministry had consulted UK-based air traffic services consultant NATS, which advised Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom.

“Heathrow operates with two runways and manages to handle up to 100 flights per hour. So it is possible to increase our traffic,” he said, adding that the ministry was currently improving the standard operation procedures and necessary infrastructure to achieve the goal.

He questioned the complaints by the Indonesia Air Traffic Controllers Association (IATCA), which expressed concerns about safety linked to the frequency increase. He stressed that Indonesia had adequate human resources to achieve the target.

IATCA complained on Wednesday about the decision by state-run air navigation company AirNav to increase the flight frequency to 84 aircraft per hour from 72 per hour.

“The excessive flight frequency will increase the chance of accidents,” said the deputy chairman of IACTA’s Jakarta branch, Andre Budi.

Soekarno-Hatta serves more than 1,200 flights every day. (dis/bbn) 

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