The Indonesian government is set to install instrument landing systems (ILS) at 50 national airports to enable airplanes to land and take off safely in case of haze, a Transportation Ministry official said.

"Our program in two to three years' time will be installing ILS at 50 national airports for the sake of flight safety," Antara news agency quoted Director General of Air Transportation M. Iksan Tatang as saying on Tuesday.

To date, only 18 of 178 airports in the country have had an adequate navigational system while the rest had no ILS, he said.

The instrument was badly needed particularly for night flights or in case of bad weather, he said.

The government is installing ILS at a number of airports, including Cilik Riwut Airport in Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, and Sultan Thaha Airport in Jambi, and the installation of the instruments will be completed only in December 2006, he said.

In 2007, the government will install ILS at about 50 airports across the country.

"These ILS will be installed in stages according to the available funds. If the funds are enough there will be more ILS installed. But if the funds are inadequate the installation of ILS will be adjusted to a priority scale," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2006)