Heaven for thieves, hell for passengers

Heaven for thieves, hell for passengers

Upon returning from an overseas trip in the early afternoon of
Jan. 4, 2001, aboard China Airlines flight CI 677 from Taipei, we
had a traumatic experience at Soekarno-Hatta International
Airport. My wife's black-colored light traveling bag was snatched
from the trolley at the customs clearance area. We suspect that
the traveling bag was stolen when we were busy opening and
showing our clothing bag to the customs officer.

We have received various complaints from our expatriate and
visiting colleagues of untoward incidences of stolen belongings
from incoming passengers at the airport. We dismissed the
complaints, as we usually had uneventful and smooth clearance in
the past going through customs.

A similar incident was recently reported by Sonya IG Watson
(The Jakarta Post, Jan. 5, 2001). Although our stolen bag
contained some cash, we are more concerned with the loss of our
important documents and a stack of memorable family photos and
film taken during our overseas trip. We verbally informed the
custom officers and police on duty, and invariably some of the
porters, with the dim expectation that at least the photos and
documents would be returned, certainly with compensation, as the
stolen bag was labeled with our address and phone.

I noticed that the security at the international airport has
deteriorated. Apart from the large number of porters in the
luggage claim and custom clearance areas, there were also many
uniformed persons in these "area for passengers and officers
only".

Upon exiting the custom area the passengers were again
harassed by the porters and those offering transportation at the
loading bays, especially those passengers who had not hired a
porter to handle the bags. As one entered the parking area, one
was again be confronted by illegal parking fees and food stalls
blocking the road leading from the parking area.

Knowing that the airport is one of the main entrance points
for overseas tourists, the airport authorities must ensure
safety, comfort, efficiency and the claimed trademark of
Indonesia's politeness and friendliness, to attract tourists
spending their holidays in the country.

With our economy, law enforcement and legal system still in
tatters, combined with increasing incidences of terrorism and
bombings, one of the country's last hopes of revenue, and pride,
remains the tourist industry. Let at least ensure the security,
safety and comfort of passengers at the international airport,
and in the country as well. Is this too much for the airport
authorities?

R. HUTAGALUNG

Jakarta