Indonesia’s air traffics
Indonesia has at least 683 airports, and 34 of them are commercial airports, which are managed by state-run airport operators: PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) and PT Angkasa Pura II (AP II). In 2019, there were over 19 million international air passengers departing from all across the country. Most international flights to Indonesia come through the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), which is located about 25 km west of Jakarta, the capital city. This airport is one of the world’s busiest airports and has recorded the most takeoffs and landings in Southeast Asia, also making it the busiest airport in the region.In 2020, the number of flight routes in Indonesia amounted to 216 and it was expected to keep growing in the next few years. Despite the crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in November 2020, AirAsia Indonesia still launched five new domestic routes: Jakarta-Padang, Jakarta-Pekan Baru, Jakarta-Pontianak, Jakarta-Palembang, and Bandung-Bali. As the country is still struggling with its high number of COVID-19 cases and travel restrictions, other Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Malaysia, already outcompeted Indonesia’s air connectivity score in the first half of 2021.
Challenges facing the Indonesian aviation industry
Even before the pandemic, despite the growth of the aviation market, the aircraft industry in Indonesia has been facing challenges of poor maintenance, safety issues, and lack of support. There were more than a hundred serious aviation incidents in the past decade and the nation's flagship airline, Garuda Indonesia, also has been having financial issues long before the COVID-19 travel restrictions.According to the Aviation Safety Director of the Ministry of Transportation, Indonesia’s aircraft security system is lagging due to the limited personnel, technology, and obedience in following the SOPs. As an effort to improve this, the Indonesian government is establishing the National Aviation Security System Integration/NASSI 2014-2024, an integrated security system for all airports in Indonesia. As an initial step, NASSI will be applied in five Indonesian main airports, which are Soekarno-Hatta, Kualanamu, Juanda, Ngurah Rai, and Sultan Hasanuddin. By 2024, NASSI is expected to be implemented in all Indonesian airports.
