Indonesia fast-tracks foreign aircraft to fight forest fires
The ministry’s Director General of Civil Aviation, Lukman F. Laisa, expressed his office’s support to combat forest and land fires in Kalimantan.
“This includes facilitating the use of foreign-registered aircraft to support firefighting and disaster management efforts,” he confirmed on Sunday.
As of Sunday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has processed 35 special permits for the use of foreign-registered aircraft.
He explained that foreign aircraft granted special permits may be redeployed to other areas requiring disaster response support, in accordance with Decree of the Director General of Civil Aviation No. KP. 9 of 2021 on the Authorization of Foreign Aircraft Operations.
Operators only need to notify the Directorate General of Civil Aviation within 24 hours after the aircraft is repositioned.
According to Laisa, the policy is intended to provide operational flexibility, enabling aircraft to be rapidly deployed to areas in need while complying with applicable aviation safety and security regulations.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s Directorate of Airworthiness and Aircraft Operations also carries out oversight and certification functions regarding airworthiness, including any aircraft modifications required to support forest and land fire extinguishing operations.
After meeting all certification and technical requirements, operators are responsible for conducting flights in accordance with the terms and authorizations of their Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
Aircraft deployment locations and operations for forest and land fire management are determined based on disaster-response needs and coordination with authorized parties, including the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB/BPBD), local governments, and other agencies or parties using or leasing the aircraft.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Resinta Sulistiyandari