Antara News·Indonesia·Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 10:59 AM UTC

AirNav presents archipelagic flexible flight route system at ICAO

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Arnidhya, Kenzu

Jakarta (ANTARA) - State-owned air navigation service provider AirNav Indonesia presented its archipelagic Free Route Operations (FRTO) implementation at an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) forum in Montreal, Canada.

The experience was presented during the ICAO Air Navigation World-Air Traffic Flow Management 2026 forum at ICAO headquarters.

"FRTO gives airlines the flexibility to choose flight paths based on operational conditions and needs," AirNav Indonesia Operations Director Setio Anggoro said in a statement on Saturday.

He noted that the main challenge lies in supporting flight path flexibility through robust systems, procedures, and controller competence.

The FRTO initiative began in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic when air traffic dropped sharply.

Following a request from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), AirNav coordinated with the Directorate General of Air Transportation to test the User Preferred Route (UPR) concept alongside the Indonesia Air Traffic Controllers Association (IATCA).

After trials and safety assessments, FRTO was fully implemented across the Jakarta and Ujung Pandang Flight Information Regions (FIR) on Oct. 5, 2023, for flight levels 330 to 600.

Anggoro explained that AirNav manages 7.79 million square kilometers of airspace across 17,000 islands while coordinating with 10 neighboring FIRs.

To manage dynamic aircraft conflicts, AirNav is upgrading automation systems and air traffic controller training.

"Separation standards, coordination, and safety procedures are part of operations," Anggoro stated.

AirNav expanded cross-FIR operations via international agreements with Oakland in March 2023, Port Moresby in June 2024, and Australia in July 2025.

From 2020 to 2025, 10,578 flights utilized FRTO in the Jakarta and Ujung Pandang FIRs, with 2025 volume rising 82 percent year-over-year to 5,030 flights.

AirNav calculated that FRTO saved airlines $8.04 million in fuel costs in 2025 while cutting 5,426 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

This route efficiency also reduces distance flown, flight time, and fuel consumption.

"Going forward, FRTO is one of the foundations for developing Trajectory-Based Operations. AirNav is also aligning air traffic controller competence development with the ICAO APAC Project 30/10 as part of modernizing aviation navigation services," he added.

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