Not just Jakarta

Not just Jakarta

I have experienced flight delays twice with Singapore
Airlines. On March 15, 1996, the Jakarta to Singapore flight
No. 151 was delayed for about four hours. The plane took off at
11:30 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. as scheduled. The second time was
the Singapore to Jakarta flight No.158 on March 26, 1996. The
aircraft was scheduled to depart at 3:30 p.m. but it only took
off at 5:00 p.m.

On both flights the passengers boarded the plane on time, but
the crew did not make any announcement although it was already 30
minutes past the scheduled departure time. I felt uneasy about
the delay.

On the flight No. 151, the captain announced that the engine
failed to start which would possibly cause a long delay because a
spare part had to be replaced. Many passengers wanted to transfer
to another plane to Singapore. However, the transfer was not
conducted by the company. They managed it individually. I was not
in a hurry, as my return flight from Singapore was the following
day. But I made an inquiry whether I could fly with any other
flight during that day. I was told that all other flights to
Singapore were fully booked and I had to wait until the repair
work was completed.

On the second flight, the information concerning the delay was
even more interesting. After half-an-hour delay the captain
announced that the plane could not take off because there was a
"military exercise" and the Singapore airport was closed.
Unsatisfied with the information, I asked one of the crew about
the cause of the delay. I was told that the engine's hydraulic
pump was not functioning. After waiting long enough, I alighted
from the plane and asked the staffer in the waiting room what the
problem was. I got quite a different answer: Soekarno-Hatta
airport is closed because many aircraft were waiting for
permission to landing. I was really confused by the conflicting
information, not knowing which to rely upon. Finally, it was
announced that the Soekarno-Hatta airport was open and so was the
Singapore airport, and the plane was ready to depart.

I wish to stress that the information about the closure of
Soekarno-Hatta airport discredits Jakarta. Why wasn't the
announcement of the delay made before the passengers had boarded
the plane so that they could wait in the waiting room? Are the
first-class and Raffles passengers given top priority to change
planes?

IZHAR M. FIHIR

Jakarta