Indonesia Takes Over FIR Control Above Riau, Natuna from Singapore

TheIndonesia.co - Indonesia finally took over control of Flight Information Region, or FIR, above Riau Islands from Singapore after the two governments agreed on a realignment agreement.

Leaders of the two countries met in Bintan, Riau Islands, on Tuesday, January 25, to discuss a number of bilateral issues, including the FIR alignment. And upon the agreement, air navigation service in Riau and Natuna airspace will now be managed by Airnav Indonesia, after previously under the control of of Singapore’s civil aviation authorities.

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said the government will follow up the agreement with necessary undertaking to accelerate its implementation.

According to Sumadi, the realignment of FIR is a testament to Indonesia’s sovereignty over airspace within its territory, in accordance to 1944 Chicago Convention on international civil aviation and 1982 United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNLCOS). And the Indonesian authorities also aims to enhance service quality and safety of passenger in Indonesia.

It’s also mandated in the agreement that Indonesian continues to delegate less than a third (29 percent) of its airspace above the Singaporean territory to its neighboring country. However, Indonesia still has the right over air navigation service fee within the area.

Furthermore, the two countries also agreed on civil-military cooperation on air traffic management where Indonesia will delegate a personnel to be headquartered in Singapore. The meeting also discussed the imposition of air navigation service (PJNP) fee, in accordance to applicable laws in Indonesia.

“Evaluation on the limited delegation of PJNP in Indonesia FIR will be carried out periodically, also through the placement of Indonesian personnel in Singapore’s air traffic control,” Minister Sumadi explained.

During the leaders’ retreat attended by President Joko Widodo and PM Lee Hsien Loong in Bintan, a number of strategic issues were discussed, one of which in an extradition treaty which was signed by representatives from the two countries.