S

tate air navigation firm AirNav plans to build new towers and other supporting navigation infrastructure this year in anticipation of the government’s plan to take over flight information control in the Upper Natuna area from neighboring Singapore.

Upper Natuna refers to an area covering Singapore, the Malacca Strait in Malaysia and the southern part of Borneo, whose flight information region (FIR) is currently managed by Singapore.

A FIR is a specified region of airspace in which flight information and alert services (ALRS) are provided. Singapore has been managing the FIR over the Riau Islands area since 1946. Indonesia has been trying since 1993 to take over the airspace without success.

Singapore controls the airspace that reaches 110 nautical miles from its position, covering Batam, Dumai and the Natuna islands.

Taslim, the AirNav’s district manager for the provincial capital of Tanjung Pinang, said the company planned to soon add new air navigation infrastructure ahead of negotiations between Indonesia and Singapore in September regarding the takeover.

Currently, the company provides navigation services for flights within 60 nautical miles from Tanjung Pinang, with a maximum height of 3,048 meters.

“We plan to expand our services to those flying up to 24,500 feet,” he said recently.

The planned takeover of the bordering airspace, which has also been used for military training by the Indonesian Air Force, is in accordance with Law No. 1/2009 on Aviation, which stipulates that airspace above Indonesia must be controlled by the government and that the country must take back airspace controlled by foreign parties within 15 years of the law being enacted.

AirNav plans to disburse at least Rp 100 billion (US$7.5 million) to its facility at Tanjung Pinang to prepare the technology to manage the FIR after the anticipated takeover. Around a third of the budget will be allocated to build a new air traffic control (ATC) tower as an upgrade to the existing one. It is slated to operate next year.

The infrastructure upgrade is also necessary to accommodate increasingly busy air traffic in the region.

AirNav, for instance, manages up to 4,700 flight movements monthly for the Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Riau Island’s biggest city, and up to 2,000 flight movements in Tanjung Pinang’s Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport.

“If we can expand the airspace, we will be able to manage flights from the south, west and east heading to Singapore’s Changi Airport,” AirNav air traffic service (ATS) operation junior manager Mukhcis Sampurna said.

Mukhcis also said the company would increase the number of personnel in its ATC tower in Tanjung Pinang from 23 to 64 to anticipate such expansion.

AirNav is also preparing to manage the airspace in southern Java after the government announced a plan to find an alternative route to ease congestion in the skies over the northern part of Java, the country’s most populated region.

Northern Java itself has been cited as the one of the busiest flight track routes in the world, especially for Jakarta to Surabaya, East Java, which sees 150 flight movements daily, and was recorded as the ninth busiest flight route this year according to data from air travel intelligence company OAG.

The Air Force, which has been using the airspace in southern Java exclusively for military activities, recently sealed an agreement with the Transportation Ministry regarding the plan. Air Force spokesperson Wiko Sofyan said both institutions were now in talks to discuss the technical aspects of the operation.

Flights connecting Jakarta and Surabaya currently take 90 minutes. It takes two hours to fly between Jakarta and Denpasar, Bali, located next to the eastern tip of Java. The opening of the new flight path will help air passengers experience a shorter flight duration.