Letter: Soekarno-Hatta Terminal I problems

Recently, I went to Terminal I of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to meet my husband, who was arriving after a domestic flight from Palembang. Reaching Terminal I was a horrendous experience and I did not manage to find a parking spot. I had to go to Terminal II for parking.

The government does not realize that Indonesia is an enormous country, where daily domestic flights from all over Indonesia arrive or take off every three to five minutes.

Terminal I is just too small now to accommodate so many flights and so many passengers. The terminal was absolutely crowded with many people either seeing family or friends off or meeting them. Those who were awaiting flights were chain-smoking, vendors were selling food, people were eating and littering so Terminal I looks more like a busy, dirty market.

It was a dreadful experience.

On top of that the flight from Palembang was delayed for another three hours which only added to my horror and I called my husband to call me the minute he disembarked so I could leave Terminal II and pick him up at Terminal I.

The government should take steps to build another much bigger terminal with adequate parking to accommodate hundreds of daily domestic flights, thousands of passengers including those who go there to meet or say goodbye to travelling family members and friends.

It is a disgrace that many people are unable to find a parking spot. Many cars were parked on grassy fields surrounding Terminal I, or on its sidewalks. It was almost impossible to leave Terminal I due to so many parked cars.

If Ngurah Rai gets a Rp 2 trillion face-lift, Terminal I should get triple that amount or the government should allocate Terminal III for some of its domestic airlines. Due to economic growth, many people with limited funds who could only afford the bus, the ferry or a cargo-ship for travelling, are now taking aircraft.

Lynna van der Zee-Oehmke
Bogor, West Java