THE setting up of its own airline is the island of Sumatra's own, perhaps somewhat ambitious way of answering the challenge of regional autonomy. The company will be called Sumatra Airlines and, assuming it doesn't encounter any obstacles, its aircraft will very soon be flying over Sumatran skies.

Plans are that the island's provincial cities will be served by large planes and regency cities by smaller ones. But Sumatra's airline ambitions don't sto