New terminal may become center for extortion

The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

It is feared the Rp 4.5 billion terminal planned by the government for Djuanda Airport in Surabaya will become just another center for extortion.

"I am afraid the new airport terminal will be used as a place to extort returning Indonesian laborers," said a taxi driver at Djuanda airport in Surabaya, as quoted by Antara news agency.

"They charge up to Rp 1 million for a trip from Surabaya to Banyuwangi and they refuse to negotiate the price at the beginning of the trip," the driver, who requested anonymity, said, referring to his unscrupulous colleagues.

Djuanda Airport is apparently following in the footsteps of Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta, where a special terminal has been built to handle homebound Indonesian laborers.

Extortion of homecoming workers at the new terminal got so bad that the Minister of Manpower requested the closure of the terminal.

Airport authority PT Angkasa Pura I, which is involved in the construction of the new terminal, denied the accusation that workers would be extorted.

"There is no reason for us to extort the workers. We only want to offer the best service possible for the workers so that they can feel comfortable, safe and secure," said Bambang Utomo, the head of Angkasa Pura I.

On the contrary, he said, the new terminal would cost Djuanda Airport Rp 700 million a year in additional costs such as electricity, clean water and cleaning services.

The taxi driver said that even without the new terminal, laborers had always been easy prey and he did not believe the new terminal was meant to protect them.

"The new terminal will just make it easier for bad people to extort the laborers," he said.