Vaisala, a Finnish measurement technology company, has signed a contract with the Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to modernize fourteen Indonesian airports.

The contract, worth EUR 25 million, provides for improved airport weather systems and equipment to improve safety and weather resilience and is Vaisala’s largest aviation weather project to date.

“Flight safety should not be a privilege. No matter where you live, you should be able to trust that your air travel is protected by modern automated weather observation systems,” said Jarkko Sairanen, Executive Vice President, Weather and Environment, Vaisala. “This is especially true in Indonesia, where the tropical climate brings thunderstorms and other weather events that can severely affect the safety of passengers and ground staff alike.”

The project is financed through the Finnish Public Sector Investment Facility (PIF), a programme eligible for projects in developing countries that comply with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and will run for three years from 2025.

“The contract includes advanced aviation weather technology, including our AviMet Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) for eight airports and a wind shear warning system combining our X-band weather radars and wind lidar for four airports. The project also includes the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s SILAM model, which can be used to estimate the movements of ash clouds during volcanic eruptions. As Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire with an estimated 80 active volcanoes, this will represent a significant improvement in Indonesian aviation safety,” Sairanen concluded.

Due to the rapid growth of the Indonesian aviation market, investing in airport infrastructure is an important step for the stability of the industry. The largest airports in the country are Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta, Bali Ngurah Rai and Surabaya Juanda.

Photo: Vaisala