Invention lies at the heart of new growth theory. While the emerging literature has reached consensus on the key role of an inventor’s human capital for inventions, the exact mechanisms through which the individual inventor may accumulate their productive knowledge remain an empirical question. This paper studies how the advancement of learning and interaction channels among inventors induced by major airline deregulation promotes innovation. Using a newly geocoded patent dataset across Indonesian municipalities, the study finds that air passenger traffic increases regional patenting. The result is robust for heterogeneous sample groups and a variety of sensitivity tests. This research thus provides a rational basis for the country to leverage its transportation infrastructure development.