Aviation Beyond Machines
When we talk about aviation, the common images are usually advanced aircraft, state-of-the-art navigation systems, and billion-dollar investments. Aviation has long been viewed through a techno-business lens: focusing on efficiency, profit, and competitiveness. But beneath the steel and speed, aviation is a deeply human enterprise. Pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, and ground staff are not just cogs in a machine; they are decision-makers whose ethical choices directly impact safety, fairness, and sustainability.
Indonesia, as the world’s largest archipelagic state, cannot afford to perceive aviation merely as a commercial service. Aviation is lifeblood — connecting islands, bridging communities, and binding the nation. Hence, professional character education in aviation must go beyond technical mastery. It must also be rooted in ethical, cultural, and spiritual values that ensure aviation grows as an ecosystem serving humanity, not just markets.
This is where the values of Ahlussunnah wal Jama’ah (Aswaja), often seen only within religious tradition, make a significant contribution. When viewed as a worldview of moderation, justice, balance, and shared responsibility, Aswaja values can enhance aviation ethics, motivate character education, and create a more comprehensive ecosystem.
Why Aswaja in Aviation? Relevance in a Secular-Global Industry
At first glance, linking Aswaja to aviation may sound far-fetched. Aviation is bound by global standards of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) and IATA (International Air Transport Association), not local religious traditions. However, when unpacked carefully, Aswaja offers universal values that align closely with the ethical imperatives of global aviation.
Moderation (tawassuth): In aviation, moderation means more than temperance—it embodies the delicate art of balance. Airlines, regulators, and service providers constantly face trade-offs between safety and efficiency, economic growth and environmental stewardship, or commercial profit and public obligation. An Aswaja-inspired perspective calls for decisions that resist extremes: rejecting the temptation to prioritize revenue at the expense of passenger safety, while also avoiding inefficiency that undermines accessibility. Moderation becomes a guiding compass in the aviation ecosystem, ensuring that growth is not reckless and that sustainability is not sidelined. This principle, deeply rooted in Islamic intellectual tradition, offers Indonesia’s aviation industry a framework for policy-making that harmonizes ambition with restraint, and profit with social good.
Fairness and Justice (i‘tidal): Fairness is not merely a legal requirement in aviation; it is an ethical imperative. In Indonesia, passengers are often confronted with opaque ticket pricing, uneven service standards, and a perception that air travel is a privilege of the wealthy rather than a public right. The Aswaja value of i‘tidal calls for just distribution—whether in ticket affordability, equitable access to regional connectivity, or fair treatment of aviation workers across ranks. Justice in this sense extends beyond regulation; it demands a cultural shift in management practices and public policy. By grounding aviation governance in fairness, Indonesia can mitigate structural inequalities, reinforcing the idea that the skies are not reserved for the few but belong to the nation as a whole.
Tolerance (tasamuh): Aviation is inherently multicultural. Every flight brings together passengers of different ethnicities, religions, and social backgrounds, while cockpit crews, cabin staff, and ground personnel often represent diverse nationalities and traditions. In this context, tolerance is not optional—it is fundamental to service quality and operational harmony. The Aswaja ethic of tasamuh reminds aviation professionals that respectful engagement across differences safeguards both dignity and safety. Discrimination, whether subtle or systemic, erodes trust in the industry. By embedding tolerance into training, recruitment, and passenger service culture, Indonesia’s aviation ecosystem can position itself as a model for inclusive mobility in a plural society.
Collective Responsibility (jama’ah): If there is one principle that mirrors the very structure of aviation, it is jama’ah—the ethic of collective responsibility. An aircraft may be piloted by two individuals, but its safety depends on the unseen chain of engineers, air traffic controllers, dispatchers, maintenance crews, and regulators working in synchrony. Aviation collapses without shared accountability. The Aswaja perspective reinforces this interconnectedness, framing safety not as an individual achievement but as a collective trust (amanah). Within Indonesia’s aviation ecosystem, embedding jama’ah means cultivating a culture where mistakes are not hidden but learned from, where responsibility is distributed, and where collaboration supersedes individual gain. This collective ethic strengthens not only safety culture but also resilience in facing crises.
In other words, Aswaja is not about importing dogma into aviation, but about illuminating universal ethics that are desperately needed in a sector often hijacked by pure commercialism.
The Crisis of Character in Aviation
Indonesia has repeatedly faced aviation tragedies rooted not only in technical flaws but also in human and organizational failures. Investigations often reveal patterns: corners cut to save costs, communication breakdowns caused by ego or hierarchy, and insufficient attention to ethical responsibility.
These problems point to a crisis of character in aviation professionalism. Current training programs emphasize technical proficiency, but they rarely cultivate virtues such as humility, integrity, responsibility, and empathy. Without such values, aviation professionals’ risk being reduced to technicians who execute procedures without ethical discernment.
Here, Aswaja-based character education can serve as a corrective force. It can infuse aviation with a broader vision: that every decision in the cockpit, tower, or boardroom is not only technical but also moral, affecting lives, justice, and the environment.
Concrete Approaches to Implement Aswaja Values in Aviation
For Aswaja values to move beyond abstract ideals, they must be translated into implementable, grounded approaches in aviation training and industry practices. Several pathways are possible:
Curriculum Integration in Aviation Schools: Aviation academies can embed modules on professional ethics, drawing from Aswaja values of balance, justice, and collective responsibility. Case studies of past aviation incidents can be discussed not only in technical terms but also through ethical reflections.
Leadership Training for Airlines and Regulators: Executives and policymakers must internalize Aswaja’s principle of moderation — balancing profit with public service. Workshops can frame corporate decisions in terms of social justice: ensuring accessibility for remote regions or implementing fair employment practices.
Community-Oriented Aviation Projects: The Aswaja spirit of jama’ah encourages aviation initiatives that serve the public good. Examples include community-based air transport in underserved regions or integrating aviation development with environmental sustainability to benefit future generations.
Safety Culture with Ethical Foundation: Instead of viewing safety merely as compliance, Aswaja-inspired education can instill it as a moral obligation. The principle of i‘tidal underscores that every act of negligence is an injustice to society.
Cross-Cultural and Interfaith Dialogue in Aviation Workplaces: Tasamuh (tolerance) can be cultivated through training that equips aviation workers to navigate diversity respectfully. This is crucial in international hubs where cultural friction can disrupt teamwork.
Challenges of Implementation
Despite its relevance, applying Aswaja values in aviation will not be without challenges:
Dominance of Techno-Business Paradigm: Aviation is still heavily driven by market logic. Any initiative perceived as “slowing efficiency” may face resistance. The challenge is to demonstrate that ethics actually enhance long-term efficiency by preventing costly accidents and building trust.
Limited Character Education in Aviation Curriculum: Technical training dominates, while ethical-spiritual dimensions remain peripheral. This requires curriculum reform and commitment from both regulators and institutions.
Globalization and Standardization Pressure: Aviation is bound by global standards. Local ethical traditions like Aswaja must be carefully translated so that they complement, not contradict, ICAO and IATA frameworks.
In short, the challenge is translation: ensuring Aswaja’s local roots enrich global standards rather than being sidelined as irrelevant.
Building a Holistic Ecosystem
Aviation cannot be seen solely as airplanes and airports. It is an ecosystem involving human resources, infrastructure, regulation, environment, and community. If this ecosystem grows without ethical anchors, it risks becoming exploitative: prioritizing profit over safety, overburdening workers, and harming the environment.
Aswaja values offer a holistic corrective lens:
Tawassuth guides the equilibrium between growth and sustainability.
I‘tidal demands justice for marginalized communities often left out of air mobility.
Tasamuh nurtures inclusivity in service delivery.
Jama’ah reinforces collective accountability for safety and fairness.
Thus, Aswaja-inspired education is not about Islamizing aviation, but about humanizing it — grounding it in ethics that resonate universally.
Ethical Compass for the Skies
Indonesia’s aviation future is bright. Demand for air travel continues to grow, new airports are being built, and investments pour in. But without ethical grounding, this growth risks producing a fragile, unsustainable industry.
The integration of Aswaja values into aviation education and practice can be Indonesia’s contribution to global aviation ethics. Just as Japan is known for its culture of discipline, or Germany for precision, Indonesia can offer a model of aviation professionalism infused with moderation, justice, tolerance, and collective responsibility.
This requires courage from policymakers, creativity from educators, and openness from industry leaders. It also requires recognition that technical standards alone cannot safeguard the skies; only when combined with ethical character will aviation truly serve humanity.
Towards an Ethical Aviation Future
In the end, aviation is not about machines, but about people — and about how people treat one another and the planet. Aswaja values, if taught and embodied in aviation education, can shape professionals who are not only competent but also conscientious.
By cultivating moderation, justice, tolerance, and collective responsibility, Indonesia can build an aviation ecosystem that is safe, fair, sustainable, and socially responsible. More importantly, it can remind the world that behind every flight is not only a journey in the air, but also a moral journey of humanity.
