Smoke in your eyes at Surabaya airport

Smoke in your eyes at Surabaya airport

By Alex Abraham

JAKARTA (JP): To the uninitiated, the new waiting lounge at
Surabaya's Juanda airport is an exiting if smoke filled
experience. The lounge has a brand new tiled floor, more
lighting, more sheet glass, more plants and an air of all round
newness. The chairs and sofa's are new, brightly cushioned in the
non-smoking area and made of gleaming new anodized metal in the
smoking area.

The first thing one notices is that the authorities have
provided for twice as much seating for the smokers as for the
non-smokers. Undoubtedly this was decided on the basis of much
market research, taking into account the city's proximity to the
Gudangs at Kediri.

Surya, my numerate friend estimated 375 seats for the smokers
versus less than 200 for those that abstain. Iskander had another
theory that ran thus.

"The fact is that 80 percent of the men smoke and the soft
seats are provided for the ladies and the children and the
metallic ones for the fathers in order to encourage them to sit
in comfort with their families." Clearly that axiom was not
working on this particular day.

All the interesting and vital shops and restaurants are
located in the heart of the smoking area. In fact a child would
have to traverse 75 feet of smoke filled territory to reach Ho
Yoe for a soft drink. His mother would have to do likewise to
reach Dharma Melati Kafeteria for a packet of krupuk or biscuits.

I could not help but observe sympathetically, two Nordic
tourists with their teva chappals and "Nike" back packs make the
journey across the area with handkerchiefs held tightly over
their noses. It resembled a scene from a war movie, two people
tentatively traversing a minefield, although they were in fact
only trying to reach the `Made in Indonesia' stall to purchase
some beautiful batik and special Indonesian handicrafts.

Across the aisle from me were two other American ladies
arguing as to which one of them would make this dangerous
crossing? Our flight had been delayed and I unabashedly strained
to overhear the discussion. One of them wanted food from the
Juanda Cake store. The other, clearly suffering from the effects
of the heat outside and the smoke inside, needed Panadol from the
Juanda Drug store.

Both these shops were situated on the far end of the smoking
area, which by now was beginning to resemble the cloud filled
caldera around Mount Bromo. Ultimately the sick one prevailed and
the hungry one trudged off on her mission of purchase, wearing a
scarf around her face like in some western movie - Jesse James
setting off to rob a bank.

Other passengers faced the same predilection whether they
wanted a newspaper from Puspita Kios Majalah, or embroidery and
brightly printed clothes that hung attractively displayed in
Ugari and Serentry Lerasati.

A group of three children espied through the smoke the Napoli
Ice Cream and cool drink stall in the far corner. They argued and
yelled at their reluctant mother to satisfy their yearning for
icecream. And like any good mother, she ultimately succumbed. She
stood up, took a deep breath and moved with trepidation towards
the freezer followed by three whooping joyous kids.

Clouds of smoke waft through the passenger lounge, blown
hither and thither by gusts from the air-conditioning ducts.
"Cigarette smoking is injurious to your health" proclaimed the
warning on the cigarette pack, carelessly thrown beside a pillar.

Said Iskander wryly; "They should put up a warning `Waiting in
the Lounge for your flight is injurious to your health'.
Particularly in Surabaya"

I turned my attention to the non-smoking section. The whole
area was dominated by a large backlit hoarding for Marlboro. The
dainty potted plants stood in enormous Sampoerna and Gudang Garam
branded plant holders. The only non-cigarette-associated feature
in the area was a small jewelry stall and a Bank Lippo
advertisement.

Blissfully the wait ended. The flight was announced and the
passengers stepped out into the fresh air. Committed smokers
delayed their departure till the last moment before unwillingly
stubbing out their cigarettes in the giant ashtrays. Those
suffering from the smoke in Surabaya heaved a collective and
audible sigh of relief. Their ordeal had come to an end...or at
least until they landed again in Jakarta.