Senin, Juli 21, 2025

Rebuilding National Aviation Sovereignty: A Strategic Interpretation of Civil Aviation through Prabowo Subianto’s Vision

Dr. Afen Sena, M.Si. IAP, FRAeS
Dr. Afen Sena, M.Si. IAP, FRAeS
Profesional dan akademis dengan sejarah kerja, pendidikan dan pelatihan di bidang penerbangan dan bisnis kedirgantaraan. Alumni PLP/ STPI/ PPI Curug, Doktor Manajemen Pendidikan dari Universitas Negeri Jakarta, International Airport Professional (IAP) dari ICAO-ACI AMPAP dan Fellow Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS).
- Advertisement -

“Sebuah bangsa yang tidak sanggup mengelola dan menguasai kekayaan alam serta sumber dayanya sendiri, bukanlah bangsa merdeka. Kita harus berdiri di atas kaki kita sendiri, mengelola negeri ini dengan keberanian, kecintaan kepada tanah air, dan rasa tanggung jawab kepada rakyat.”

— Prabowo Subianto, Membangun Kembali Indonesia Raya (2014)

 This statement, drawn from Prabowo Subianto’s Membangun Kembali Indonesia Raya, is more than a patriotic call — it is an ideological framework. It declares the imperative of national self-reliance not merely in rhetoric, but in statecraft, governance, and strategic sectors. Among these sectors, civil aviation stands as a high-altitude mirror of sovereignty, capacity, and national integration.

While Prabowo’s book, published on the eve of the 2014 presidential election, broadly covers economic, political, and military topics, it also highlights enduring principles that are highly relevant to how Indonesia manages its civil aviation system. These principles — nationalist leadership, bureaucratic reform, and national self-reliance — provide a strong perspective for shifting Indonesia’s aviation policy from a technocratic approach to a strategic focus on nation-building.

Civil aviation is no longer merely about aircraft, airports, and logistics. It is about commanding our airspace, governing our aviation institutions with integrity, and connecting our people from Sabang to Merauke as an act of national sovereignty and service. Interpreting the aviation ecosystem through Prabowo’s vision compels a radical rethinking of aviation as a strategic platform for building back Indonesia Raya.

Aviation as Sovereignty in the Sky

Prabowo’s emphasis on sovereignty starts with territory, and airspace is among the most sacred yet often overlooked aspects of it. For decades, Indonesia ceded control of parts of its Flight Information Region (FIR) to Singapore over the Riau and Natuna areas. Although presented as technical or transitional, such delegations weaken the symbolic and strategic authority of the nation.

Reclaiming FIR sovereignty in recent years marks a tangible realignment with Prabowo’s belief that a state must never abdicate control over its strategic assets. It sets a precedent: Indonesian skies must be governed by Indonesians, from air traffic services to regulatory policies.

Sovereignty also manifests in our national carriers. A truly sovereign aviation ecosystem requires that Garuda Indonesia and other national airlines operate not merely as commercial entities but as instruments of state prestige, economic development, and regional diplomacy. Route rights, fleet procurement, and codeshare agreements must be guided by national interest, not market forces alone.

In the Prabowo doctrine, this is not protectionism; it is strategic realism.

- Advertisement -

Nationalist Leadership: Redefining Aviation Governance

In Membangun Kembali Indonesia Raya, Prabowo asserts that the character of its leadership determines a nation’s trajectory. In civil aviation, leadership must go beyond administrative competence — it must be visionary, ideologically committed, and unyielding in défense of national interest.

This requires a clear shift in aviation policy leadership:

  • From deregulation to strategic navigation: Open skies must be assessed through the lens of national aviation resilience, not just foreign traffic potential.
  • From reactive governance to proactive planning: Aviation strategies must anticipate demographic, geopolitical, and environmental shifts.
  • From elite-driven decisions to rakyat-centric policies: Route planning, fare regulation, and infrastructure priorities must prioritize regional inclusion, not elite connectivity.

Prabowo’s leadership ideal is both moral and operational. He speaks of pemimpin yang berani dan bersih — brave and clean leaders. For aviation, this means building a leadership ecosystem where DGCA officials, airport directors, and airline executives prioritize national mission over private margin.

Bureaucratic Reform with Integrity and Intelligence

If leadership sets direction, bureaucracy ensures execution. Unfortunately, the Indonesian aviation sector has long struggled with fragmented mandates, slow processes, and regulatory instability. regulatory adaptation, and inconsistent oversight — symptoms of what Prabowo calls birokrasi yang lemah dan tidak bermoral.

Reforming aviation bureaucracy under Prabowo’s vision entails:

  • Integrated oversight: Harmonizing DGCA, KNKT, AirNav, and SOEs into a single Strategic intelligence framework.
  • Performance-based licensing and audit systems: Using real-time operational and safety data to guide regulatory interventions.
  • Zero tolerance for corruption: Institutionalizing anti-graft culture within procurement, certification, and airport operations.

True reform, according to Prabowo, begins not in systems but in character. Bureaucrats must be educated not only in technical skills but also in national values — idealisme kebangsaan. The aviation world — so heavily reliant on international standards — must not forget its foundational loyalty: to the Indonesian people.

National Self-Reliance in Aviation Technology and Services

One of the strongest points in Membangun Kembali Indonesia Raya is the call for economic self-reliance — berdikari — especially in strategic sectors. Aviation, with its heavy dependence on imported aircraft, engines, simulators, and MRO facilities, remains both a vulnerability and an opportunity.

Realizing aviation self-reliance requires:

  • Reviving domestic aerospace manufacturing: PT Dirgantara Indonesia must be repositioned as the core of aircraft component production and UAV development.
  • Developing a national MRO network: Reducing overseas dependence for aircraft maintenance through domestic certification and capacity investment.
  • Building aviation digital infrastructure: Ensuring sovereignty over surveillance, radar, AIS, and airport management systems.

This is not an anti-globalist agenda. Prabowo’s vision does not reject foreign cooperation — it demands equitable partnerships, where Indonesia learns, builds, and eventually leads.

Aviation for Peripheral Development and National Unity

A nation is only as strong as its most isolated citizen feels connected. For Prabowo, development must start from the periphery — and civil aviation is the connective tissue. Pioneer routes in Papua, short-haul services in Maluku, and isolated airstrips in NTT are not market liabilities; they are national commitments.

Interpreting Prabowo’s vision involves:

  • Maintaining PSO schemes as acts of sovereignty, not subsidies.
  • Transforming airports into inclusive economic zones for local entrepreneurship.
  • Designing intermodal integration where air routes catalyze road, sea, and digital infrastructure.

Every airport in the outer islands should be viewed not as cost centers, but as beacons of unity, as Prabowo writes, “Indonesia bukan hanya Jakarta. Ia adalah rumah dari ribuan desa dan pulau yang harus terhubung dalam satu semangat.”

Civil Aviation as a National Ecosystem

Finally, the aviation sector must be seen not as an isolated industry, but as a national ecosystem that includes education, manufacturing, trade, tourism, défense, and diplomacy.

To build a strategic ecosystem in Prabowo’s image, Indonesia must:

  • Cultivate human capital with national character by embedding a nationalist curriculum in aviation academies and training institutions.
  • Support SMEs in aviation services, from catering to GSE (ground support equipment), ensuring local economic participation.
  • Showcase cultural identity in the aviation experience by designing terminals, uniforms, meals, and service ethos that reflect Indonesian dignity.

In this view, every gate at an Indonesian airport is a gateway to the nation’s soul. every flight that takes off is an expression of national intent.

Conclusion: From the Sky, Rebuild the Nation

Civil aviation, when interpreted through Prabowo Subianto’s Membangun Kembali Indonesia Raya, becomes more than infrastructure — it turns into an ideology in motion. A nationalist leadership that dares to govern the skies with dignity. A bureaucracy that serves not itself but the rakyat. A technological ambition that dares to dream beyond dependence.

Indonesia must no longer be a passenger in the global aviation journey. It must be a pilot — commanding its trajectory, mapping its airways, and elevating its people.

Let us, then, rebuild Indonesia Raya — not just on land and sea, but in the sky where sovereignty is visible, where dignity takes flight, and where the soul of a great nation soars freely.

Dr. Afen Sena, M.Si. IAP, FRAeS
Dr. Afen Sena, M.Si. IAP, FRAeS
Profesional dan akademis dengan sejarah kerja, pendidikan dan pelatihan di bidang penerbangan dan bisnis kedirgantaraan. Alumni PLP/ STPI/ PPI Curug, Doktor Manajemen Pendidikan dari Universitas Negeri Jakarta, International Airport Professional (IAP) dari ICAO-ACI AMPAP dan Fellow Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS).
Facebook Comment
- Advertisement -

Log In

Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.