Singapore and Indonesia FIR Changes
Effective March 21, 2024, in conjunction with AIRAC Cycle 2405, ICAO approved a change in the Singapore (WSJC) and Jakarta (WIIF) FIR boundaries. With this change, the Riau and Natuna Islands of Indonesia lie within the Jakarta FIR.
Prior to March 21, the Riau and Natuna Islands of Indonesia fell within Singapore’s FIR, which was a cause of some confusion with operators as Indonesia began enforcing overflight permit requirements in this region. Reports of aircraft interceptions and warning letters sent to operators by Indonesian authorities flying over these islands without a permit began to be reported in 2019. Therefore, it was extremely important to pay close attention to the flight plan route and understand the airways and segments in which Indonesia was enforcing its permit requirements. Simply looking at the FIRs listed in item 18 of the ICAO flight plan would not have indicated operations over the islands and, thus, in Indonesian airspace. With the change of the boundaries, the islands now fall within the WIIF FIR, making it much easier to identify the need for an Indonesian permit.
In addition to the above change, the ground handlers in Indonesia strongly recommend securing an Indonesian overflight permit for ALL flights operating to Singapore. This is to ensure that potential unforeseen circumstances that may necessitate reroutes into Indonesian airspace will have the necessary permissions.
For those arranging their own flight plans and permits for operations into Singapore or for overflights in that region, it will now be much easier to identify when the Indonesia permit is required by checking the FIR regions listed in their ICAO flight plan. For operators using a service provider, there will be no obvious changes other than a potential Indonesian overflight permit being secured for flights into either Singapore airport, even if planned routes don’t seem to enter Indonesian FIR boundaries. This, again, will cover any potential ATC reroutes.
In summary, this change to the FIR boundaries serves to alleviate a lot of confusion and ambiguity in this specific region east of Singapore. Hopefully, it will prevent any future aircraft interceptions and/or warning letters that occurred before the change.
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FIR Boundaries Prior to March 21, 2024
FIR Boundaries After March 23, 2024
