Insight: Airline sector must target credibility in 2012.

Byline: Amol Titus,

Last year was a mixed bag for the Indonesian airline sector. On the positive side there was record growth in passenger traffic, several new routes were opened up to facilitate better connectivity, Garuda made progress towards a commendable turnaround, Lion Air created waves with its huge order for Boeings (and even managed to get US President Obama to witness the signing ceremony) and domestic economic growth trends provided a strong back for strategic plans.

However, the sector was also fraught with its fair share of controversy and mismanagement. Infrastructure development has been tardy and in many ways inexcusable. Whether it is the case of a big city such as Medan that requires better international connectivity or a small but growing city like Malang that needs better domestic connectivity, in both cases the condition of local airports leaves much to be desired.

Growth in the number of flights is only adding to existing congestion, ground …