T

he Soekarno-Hatta International Airport authority will move the immigration check lounge in Terminal 3 to Terminal 2, according to an airport official.

'€œWe will implement the new policy starting Aug. 10,'€ Soekarno-Hatta region I administration chief Harry Swignyo said on Saturday.

He argued the decision was made to '€œease immigration checks'€ at the international airport.

Currently, overseas flights at Terminal 3 are dominated by budget airline AirAsia.

AirAsia spokesperson Audrey Progestama Petriny said that the airport authority'€™s decision to move the immigration check lounge was rushed and would be ineffective.

'€œAirAsia caters to roughly 4,000 overseas passengers from Terminal 3 each day. When the airport implements the new policy, our passengers must first check in at Terminal 3, then board a bus to Terminal 2 for the immigration check and then take another bus to board their aircraft. It'€™s too complicated,'€ Audrey said as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Separately, Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana said the Immigration Directorate General had already annulled the plan and would maintain the immigration check lounge at the airport'€™s Terminal 3.

Denny made the statement through his twitter account @dennyindrayana.

'€œLadies and gentlemen, after coordination with all sides, paying attention to society including social media, the immigration office has decided to maintain the immigration checkpoint at Terminal 3,'€ he said. '€” JP