Letters: Still on Soekarno-Hatta airport

Tue, 11/10/2009 12:25 PM  |  Readers Forum

I am a foreigner who is working in Jakarta and shuttle to my home country once or twice a week from/to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

I observed the following:

The guys waiting outside the toilet have toilet paper whilst none can be found inside the WC! They even had the cheek to offer some folded ones to people for some tips.

Beside those thugs selling fake watches and those who offer to carry your luggage, there are some outside at the paid parking lots too and these include children who "assist" you to reverse your car, mundur, mundur (backward, backward);

The immigration officers (both departure and arrival) always ask for "souvenirs" whenever they noticed my passport was attached with KITAS (Work Permit);

Those taxi operators selling tickets who are stationed inside the airport smoke freely!

Unfriendly custom and immigration officers. Lack of smiles.

The putrid smell of urine at the car park! This is really nauseating.

Those reverent looking female TKIs bound for Middle Eastern countries donning jilbab sitting, flocking and eating together on the floor within the departure hall is a sorry sight. These are human beings for God's sake! Can't the airport authority provide a nice special waiting area/room for these TKIs who are going away for some considerable period of time to improve their family's economy?

Lack of immigration officers at night upon arrival but surely they are many who just sitting around chatting away;

The custom/BEA officers just run one scanning machine at the passage out of the airport causing serious macet. The condition is worsened when three to four flights arrive around the same time.

Lack of sitting facilities. Please provide more benches and improve the air-conditioning system.

Jenal
Jakarta

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Ferry Pasaribu (not verified), Jakarta — Wed, 11/11/2009 - 11:01am

I love my country very much, and sometimes I took it as an offence if somobody comments negatively about Indonesia. But, unfortunately, I agree with all the points that Jenal raised about Soekarno Hatta Airport. It is in a very sorry condition, and it seems that those guys who run the Airport don't care much about it. The Terminals are not connected, except by shuttle buses which are not passenger-friendly, meaning it takes a lot of efforts for those who want to transfer from one terminal to another to bring their luggages, for example. Then the toilets, most are stink and toilet tissues are luxuries. I am not going to touch the other items, they are too many to be mentioned, Jenal has helped me a lot on this. On the other side, if we see malls around Jakarta, sometimes when you are inside, you will not be sure that you are still in Indonesia, especially after you just arrived at Soekarno Hatta and then drove immediately to one of Jakart's malls, like Grand Indonesia. So, actually we, good and law abiden Indonesians, are able to construct a nice, clean, modern building such as Grand Indonesia. This logic is applicable on the case of Soekarno Hatta airport. We do can build a nice airport that resembles Grand Indonesia, inter-connected with train from one terminal to another. But, as long as the guys that are running Soekarno Hatta airport remain the same, then forget about having a better airport. In other words, it needs a fundamental reform, by, for example, privatizing it at once. As long as the airport is run by a group of amateurs, then forget about having an airport like we can see in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, or even Dubai. Indonesia is a great country, but unfortunately there are too many amateurs around. Please keep this in mind, my fellow citizens.

Andrea L. (not verified), Pittsburgh, PA — Tue, 11/10/2009 - 11:58pm

In regards to the space planning of the Soekarno-Hatta Jakarta International Airport; from the airline check in, passing passport control and on to the departure gate is within a short walking distance comparing to other airports in the world. The arrival gates to the passport control area is a quick exit from the plane. However the arrival inspection area may need more space to accommodate travelers passing through passport control. Baggage claims area need more lighting and visible indication of flight arrivals, baggage carousel numbers, and more exit inspection rows. An overall interior face lift (besides the airport services which need improvement) would be beneficial to replace the outdated 80's style airport. Everyone is so fixated by the restroom conditions at any airport. Indeed a clean restroom is great to the visual environment. But also the blame rest with the humans' bathroom etiquette and inconsideration for the next person using the restroom and so on. Therefore restroom attendants should always be vigilant to make sure the public restrooms are clean. Be it in Indonesia, Europe, the US or any other places in the world; public restrooms are always the worst hygienic places to walk into. For those who have flown, no matter what airline a traveler is using; the lavatories are always filthy....

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