T

he government said Monday it would tighten supervision on the management of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport’s Terminal 3 to ensure immediate service improvement amid growing concerns over a series of operational glitches at the new facility.

Speaking on the sidelines of his visit to the terminal, which commenced operations on Aug. 9, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said the country’s air transportation authorities would conduct a monthly evaluation on the operation of the facility.

The move, he said, was crucial to address a series of problems occurring in the terminal’s first week of operations, including flooding near the arrival gate on Sunday, reportedly due to a flawed drainage system.

“That is what a soft opening is for, to find flaws and mistakes. We need to identify the problems,” he told the press on Monday, adding that the survey might be conducted for at least six months.

The terminal, expected to put the airport on par with the likes of Changi Airport in Singapore, was only operating at 40 percent of its full capacity so far, Kalla acknowledged.

The new terminal, a landmark project by state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II to revamp the 30-year-old Jakarta-serving airport, was launched two weeks after former AP II president director Budi Karya Sumadi was named transportation minister. It is expected to accommodate 25 million passengers per year.

The previous transportation minister, Ignasius Jonan, refused to give AP II the green light to open the terminal on the initial target date of June 20, citing safety reasons such as unclear views of the apron from the air traffic control tower and the unavailability of a power generator during blackouts — issues that were resolved prior to the terminal’s opening.

The terminal’s first day of operation, however, was marred by glitches, ranging from blackouts to flight delays. The public took to social media to complain about these issues and other inconveniences, such as confusing signage.

On Sunday, the arrivals section of the terminal was inundated following heavy rain, causing little impact on the terminal’s operations but drawing a furious passenger backlash.

AP II said the incident was due to the terminal’s drainage systems becoming clogged by debris from construction work, which remains ongoing in parts of the week-old terminal. As a result, water burst through the exit doorway of the arrivals section, causing puddles and flooding.

Budi said he acknowledged that there were flaws, especially on the service side. The minister said he would assign a credible independent body to identify the problems.

“We can assign experts from universities, like ITB [the Bandung Institute of Technology] to evaluate the [airport’s] technological side and those from UI [University of Indonesia] to assess accessibility,” he said.

The ministry maintained it had not pushed for a premature launch of operations, as an early operational simulation had revealed no problems.

However, Anang Ma’ruf, a 52-year-old Garuda Indonesia passenger heading to Medan in North Sumatra, who arrived at the terminal four hours early out of curiosity, said he felt the terminal’s operation seemed forced.

“I don’t even know where the praying room and the toilet are; it’s that confusing. There is no central rest area and it is not cool enough,” he said, adding that he was also lost as to where to go for his flight, with no gate specified on his ticket.

AP II acting president director Djoko Murjatmodjo, meanwhile, said the company had taken steps to resolve the problems, including procuring up to six water pumps to avoid future inundation.

Aviation observer Gerry Soejatman stated that he felt the current operational problems were mostly “growing pains of a new terminal”, although the inundation crossed the line.

“We can say that the operation is rushed, but in the long run it should get better,” he said, adding that the government had made the right move by creating an inventory of the problems.