ASEAN to synchronize flight schedules within region

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are expected to agree on a roadmap that would integrate the region's air travel sector by 2007 during an upcoming summit in Laos next month.

Ministry of Industry and Trade's director for regional cooperation Eliver Radjagoekgoek said on Wednesday that the region's senior economic officials were scheduled to formalize the plan at a senior official meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, later this month.

Under the roadmap, the six founding members of ASEAN which include Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, and Thailand will establish a plan to integrate the air travel industry by 2007, and the four new members -- Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar -- are set to follow suit by 2012.

One of the expected results of the integration process, according to Eliver, is a synchronized flight schedule, a condition that would enable travellers to reduce waiting time for connecting flights throughout the region, which in turn would boost travel efficiency and benefit business.

"The harmonized schedule aims to organize flights in ASEAN member countries that would ensure travellers enjoy connecting trips without having to wait for days or even hours," Eliver said.

"Integrated air travel would also boost economic activities in the region," he added.

He did not provide further details on the content of the roadmap, but he also emphasized that Indonesia would not open its skies to foreign airlines to serve domestic routes.

The region's airlines may only enjoy routes between international airports, he said.

The integration of the air travel sector is part of the plan by ASEAN countries to accelerate an overall liberalization drive in priority economic sectors in a bid to boost trade within the region and integrate the economies by 2020 similar to the European Union model.

The other priority sectors comprise agriculture, the automotive industry, e-ASEAN, electronics, fisheries, healthcare, rubber-based industry, textiles and apparel, tourism and wood- based industry. The regional grouping agreed on a liberalization roadmap for these sectors during the ASEAN Economic Ministers meeting in Jakarta last month.