In Indonesia, authorities temporarily closed down operations at five airports, including international airport Ngurah Rai in Denpasar on Indonesia’s tourist hotspot Bali. This decision was made due to the eruption of Mount Raung (located in East Java). The volcano’s level of activity has increased over the past seven days and is now spewing ash and debris high into the air, jeopardizing the safety of air passengers. Due to the shutdown of the five airports, it is estimated that thousands of travelers have been affected.

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Although Indonesian rescuers are still searching for the black boxes, casualties and other remains of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 that crashed tragically in the Java Sea on 28 December 2014 en route from Surabaya (East Java) to Singapore, some preliminary findings have already been presented to the media. These findings do not involve the accident itself but rather involve massive violations that were exposed as a consequence of the AirAsia tragedy. Apparently, 61 flights (involving five Indonesian airlines) lack the necessary permits.

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Ahead of implementation of the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM) in 2015, it is important for Indonesia to improve infrastructure at (and around) airports, particularly the nation’s smaller airports, in order to be able to compete with other airports in the ASEAN region. ASAM will turn ASEAN into a unified and single aviation market by 2015, meaning that air travel between ASEAN member states is fully liberalized. As such, ASAM will supersede existing unilateral, bilateral and multilateral air services agreements between ASEAN members.

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The government of Indonesia announced on Tuesday (24/12) that increased levels of foreign direct investments will be allowed in the country’s airports, pharmaceutical industries, power plants, and toll roads. The revision of Indonesia's Negative Investment List (Daftar Negatif Investasi), the list which stipulates which sectors are closed (or partly closed) to foreign investment, is conducted in order to attract more foreign investments from abroad as a means to combat slowing economic growth in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

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Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation expects the number of air passengers in Indonesia to exceed 100 million in 2014, a 15 percent growth from this year's estimated 90 million air passengers. Air traffic in Southeast Asia's largest economy is growing rapidly. From 2012 to 2013, passenger numbers grew at least 19 percent (from 60 to 90 million), while the total number of flights increased from 566,000 in 2011 to 684,000 in 2012. This robust growth necessitates investments to safeguard comfort and safety in Indonesia's aviation sector.

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The aviation industry in the Asia-Pacific region has shown robust growth in recent years. This region is one of the world's fastest growing regions in terms of air travel. In the next 20 years, an average annual seven percent growth of air traffic is expected. Indonesia, the current engine of economic growth in Southeast Asia and one of the largest economies in the Asia-Pacific, contains a burgeoning middle class that is increasingly using airplanes for domestic as well as international transport.

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Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation has issued a temporary moratorium on the issuance of permits for the establishment of new airlines in Indonesia. A spokesman of the Ministry said that airports will become too crowded if more applications are approved. Overcrowded airports will result in more flight delays and entails risks for safety. An increase in flight frequency of already established airlines is still permitted. The Ministry is also concerned that if more permits are issued, current rife competition between airlines will intensify.

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Indonesia's Ngurah Rai Airport on the idyllic island of Bali is now the country's largest airport in terms of passenger capacity. Being newly renovated, it can handle 25 million passengers per year. As such, it has surpassed Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, located just outside Jakarta (Java), and the new Kuala Namu airport in Medan (Sumatra), which have passenger capacities of 22 million and 8.1 million respectively. However, after renovation of terminal three at Soekarno-Hatta will be finished, Ngurah Rai is to lose its top spot again.

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Garuda Indonesia is the most renowned airline of Indonesia. The company, which received four stars from Skytrax, provides both domestic and international flights (passengers and cargo). In recent years, Garuda has experienced a remarkable transition from being banned to fly to the Eurozone towards becoming a world-class airline that is acknowledged by international critical acclaim. Although Garuda is Indonesia's top class airline, it taps the low-cost aviation sector through its subsidiary Citilink Indonesia.

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According to data from Airport Council International, Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport was the world's tenth most visited airport in 2012. It is the first time for an Indonesian airport to reach the top ten of most visited airports. However, robust growth in passengers in recent years resulted in overcapacity as the airport was originally built to handle an annual 22 million passengers, but had to cope with 57.7 million passengers in 2012.

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On Friday 10 January 2014, the government of Indonesia opened Halim Airport for scheduled commercial flights. Previously, the only airport that served these types of flights around Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta and surrounding towns was the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta), located in Cengkareng (Banten). However, the amount of daily passengers at Soetta has exceeded its capacity. Based on data from Airports Council International, released in 2013, Soetta is the world's tenth busiest airport.

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Although initially expected to start in 2015, the government announced that construction of the new Karawang airport (in West Java) may commence in 2014. The administrative process (including a spatial plan review) is near completion, thus clearing the way for the airport's groundbreaking. The Karawang International Airport, which is designed to have a passenger handling capacity of 70 million people per year, will be built on a 900 ha piece of land and is envisaged to relieve passenger and flight congestion at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

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The public and private sector in Indonesia is well aware that the lack of quality and quantity of Indonesia's infrastructure is one of the matters that hamper the economic development of the country. For that reason, the central government implemented the Masterplan to Accelerate and Expand Economic Development (MP3EI) in Indonesia, which foresees large investments in the country's infrastructure. Although results are not satisfying yet, the government is proud to have opened a new airport in North Sumatra.

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The number of air passengers in Indonesia has increased significantly during the last decade, and turned the country in one of the fastest-growing air travel industries worldwide. Blessed with robust macro economic growth and a subsequent burgeoning middle class, Indonesians are increasingly using airplanes as means of transportation. It is estimated that in 2012 about 72.5 million people used air transport in Indonesia, a ten percent year-on-year increase.

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One of the industries that has been showing remarkable growth in recent years in Indonesia is the aviation industry. Blessed with robust macro economic growth and a burgeoning middle class, the country's population is increasingly using airplanes as means of transportation. Considering the magnitude of Indonesia, its island rich composition and underdeveloped road and rail network, air travel is an efficient option.

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