Make airport more pleasant

I'd like to add some comments with regard to the complaint in The Jakarta Post on Nov. 8, 2001 on Soekarno-Hatta airport.

On Nov. 7 I arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport from Singapore with my family. I was holding my 14-month old son in one hand, carrying a 15 kg backpack on my back and a 10 kg bag across my body. I was accompanied by my three-months-pregnant wife. I had my watch stolen amidst the jostling that accompanies arriving passengers accosted for taxi services. Yes, the airport does resemble a bus terminal. It's also a shame that the international airport for Indonesia does not greet its new arrivals with the most reputable, clean and honest taxis, but rather often with dirty taxis.

Queuing for immigration clearance took me a good 20 minutes and waiting for my baggage an extra 10 on top. What a difference to Changi, where it is clean, efficient, without waits for immigration or baggage or people hassling people upon arrival.

The sad thing is that this is not just a one-off experience: it is the norm. Once, when I went through this airport I was asked, or rather told, to pay "additional" money to an immigration officer for having a passport that was not valid for more than six months, although mine had about eight months still to run!

I love Indonesia. Shouldn't something be done to make the airport a showcase of Indonesian hospitality rather than a blight on the country?

MARK OGILVIE

Jakarta