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Help for Indonesia air control
25/04/2007 13:37 - (SA)
Jakarta - Indonesia's neighbours would take over control of its air traffic if the sprawling archipelago's aircraft tracking system fails, under a plan released on Wednesday, said officials.
The plan for Indonesia's air traffic control system was developed following a slew of recent plane disasters that have claimed more than 100 lives, they said.
Two centres would assume control of air traffic in Indonesia under the plan, in an effort to streamline the system, said M Nasir Usman, senior transport ministry official, according to the Detikcom news portal.
If natural disasters or mechanical faults close down both centres - in the capital Jakarta and Makassar in south Sulawesi - then Singapore, Malaysia and other neighbours would step in until the problems were resolved, he said.
"We are preparing a contingency plan and will reach an agreement with neighbouring countries," said Usman.
Full details, including technical arrangements between the countries and when it would take effect, have not yet been finalised.
'Extensive' search
On New Year's Day an Adam Air jet disappeared off Indonesian radar with 102 people on board.
The air control centre in Makassar failed to detect its last co-ordinates, prompting an extensive land and sea search.
Only small pieces of the plane have been found in the ocean off Sulawesi island. Its black box recorders, located on the ocean floor, have not yet been recovered.
In March, a jet belonging to national carrier Garuda crash-landed at Yogyakarta airport before bursting into flames and killing 21 people.
The air traffic initiative is one of several by the embattled transport ministry to try to improve Indonesia's woeful air safety record.
It was requested by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN agency charged with improving air safety.
Officials from Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Australia and the United States attended the meeting.
Prone to natural disasters
"Indonesia will become the first country to implement this," said Usman, the head of air traffic safety at the ministry.
He could not be immediately reached for more comment.
Kyotaro Harano, a regional officer with ICAO, said the agency had asked Indonesia to introduce the plan because of its vast territory.
It also has a large number of international flights and was prone to natural disasters, he said.
"If the two air control centres in Indonesia cannot function, the effect on international flights is quite large," said Harano, according to Detikcom.
Indonesia, a nation of 17 000 islands, depends on both its air and sea links.
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