BATAM. Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan emphasized on Friday that Indonesia was not ready to take over the management of airspace above Riau and Riau Islands provinces from Singapore because of limited resources and the huge investment needed to do so.

“It [the takeover of the airspace] is a safety issue. We will take it over when we are ready, but currently we are not ready,” he said in Batam, Riau Islands.

Jonan’s statement was a reversal of what officials at the Transportation Ministry said during Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s presidency, that the takeover would go ahead.

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The takeover of the Flight Information Region (FIR) was mandated by the Law No. 1/2009 on Aviation but Jonan said it could be sidelined when it comes to aviation safety.

Singapore has been managing the FIR over the area since 1946 and Indonesia’s efforts to take the airspace over since 1993 have always been failed.

The city-state controls airspace up to 110 nautical miles from its position covering Batam, Dumai and Natuna.

The Singapore-controlled airspace is divided into three sectors: Sector A covers Batam airspace, Sector B covers Tanjung Pinang and Karimun and Sector C covers Natuna.

This arrangement gives Singapore the authority to manage aircraft movement in those sectors, including air patrols conducted by the Indonesian Air Force and Indonesian Navy. (Fadli)