Towards Trajectory-Based Operations: AIR Lab, AirNav Indonesia, and Garuda Indonesia Collaborate on RCP

On 2–3 September 2026, AIR Lab held a two-day workshop with AirNav Indonesia and, for the first time, Garuda Indonesia, bringing together an Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) and a Major Airline to explore how closer collaboration can shape the future of Air Traffic Management (ATM) in the region.

The workshop centered on AIR Lab’s Regional Collaboration Platform (RCP) and its potential to support AirNav Indonesia’s ongoing work towards the implementation and evolution of Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO) across the ecosystem — a shift in ATM that relies on closer coordination between airlines and ANSPs to make flights more predictable, more efficient, and less carbon-intensive.

Airline–ANSP Collaboration

The concept of TBO only works if airlines and ANSPs are working from a shared view of the air traffic situation. RCP is designed to support this: an open platform that connects with airlines and ANSPs, giving both sides a shared picture to understand, simulate, and coordinate flight trajectories together.

“Trajectory-Based Operations cannot be developed by an ANSP or an airline in isolation. Working with Garuda Indonesia and AIR Lab gives us an opportunity to build a shared understanding of operational needs and test how better information exchange could support more predictable and efficient flights. For AirNav Indonesia, this workshop is a valuable step in exploring the practical path towards TBO.”

— Wahyu Widodo, VP of ATS Development, AirNav Indonesia

Introducing Garuda Indonesia to the Regional Collaboration Platform

Day 1 marked Garuda Indonesia’s first collaboration with AIR Lab at this scale. AirNav Indonesia presented its own plan and strategy for TBO implementation, while the AIR Lab team introduced the RCP to Garuda, starting with its FF-ICE R1 capabilities (6 services) as well as the messaging standard that underpins trajectory-based flight planning.

AIR Lab demonstrated how FF-ICE R1 operates within RCP, showing how richer, more structured flight plan data can flow between airline and ANSP systems — a foundational building block for TBO.

User Preferred Route: a practical use case

The workshop also featured a hands-on session on User Preferred Route (UPR), an RCP application that lets users propose alternative flight plans and assess them against baseline routes. Early analysis pointed to potential savings in fuel burn, flight time, and track distance compared to current routes, with AirNav Indonesia and AIR Lab identifying a specific route segment for deeper investigation as a next step.

Looking ahead

This workshop reflects the broader role AIR Lab plays in the region: giving ANSPs and airlines a shared environment to trial new ATM initiatives such as FF-ICE and UPR before any large-scale roll-out, and to test them against the metrics that matter most operationally.

The close collaboration between an ANSP, an airline, and AIR Lab as a neutral agent providing the collaboration environment is exactly the model TBO depends on. We are grateful to AirNav Indonesia and Garuda Indonesia for the openness and technical depth they brought to the workshop, and we look forward to building on this momentum together.