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