As an Indonesian I am disgusted by the airport toilets, whether they are at Indonesia's international airports or at domestic ones. How could Soekarno-Hatta airport move to second place? Who is responsible for handing out these awards and how do they judge? Those toilet inspectors-cum-judges must be suffering from severe eye problems or were blindfolded.
I am often at Jakarta's international airport either meeting friends or family members, or taking them there. I also travel regularly and am not really encouraged to use the toilet facilities.
The management of PT Angkasa Pura or whoever is responsible for toilet facilities at airports, including all their cleaning staff, should follow an intensive course on how to really clean toilets in Jakarta's 5-star hotels.
Do it now.
Upon arrival, many foreigners use toilet facilities. If these are dirty and smelly, it reflects and emphasizes our real character and behaviour i.e. lack of responsibility, ignorance and laziness.
I certainly do not wish to be included in this category. Each passenger travelling domestically or internationally is also paying airport taxes.
For domestic travel one pays an extra Rp 50,000 and for international travel one pays an additional Rp 150,000. What are they doing with all this money?
There is no toilet paper, nor are there paper towels in toilets. Some toilets are so narrow that one is unable to move freely and, more importantly, there is no space for garbage bins.
If there happens to be a garbage bin, this is so full that toilet-users just leave their rubbish on the toilet floor this includes used sanitary napkins, baby's dirty nappies, used paper and cigarette stubs.
The cleaners should be instructed to empty the toilet garbage bins on a regular basis.
Where are the potted palms and plants and blooming orchids to give the airport a greener and lovelier appearance? What I see are plastic flowers - of course these are cheaper, but this reflects our incredibly bad taste.
Many airports look so shabby and smelly because people are still smoking despite the no-smoking signs and the small, unattractive and seedy cubicles for smokers at Soekarno-Hatta do not really encourage them to use these.
The government (i.e. Culture and Tourism Ministry) should replace PT Angkasa Pura because they have abominably failed to improve the hygiene at airports.
They should appoint an independent company that genuinely knows how to improve the cleanness and hygiene at all airports including its toilets
Lynna
Bogor, West Java
