Soekarno-Hatta Airport complaint
Soekarno-Hatta Airport complaint
The irony now is that Soekarno-Hatta international airport is
only marginally better than East Jakarta's Pulogadung bus
terminal.
True indeed! The airport, once our pride and joy, is now
crowded with street vendors offering all kinds of wares, bogus
fiscal and foreign exchange traders, illegal porters frequently
extorting money for unasked-for services and unauthorized taxi
drivers touting for potential passengers, harassing or
frightening them.
General services are disappointing too: most baggage trolleys
are left outside the arrival terminal, while only several porters
are available to help. Is all this arranged on purpose? Taxis are
also hard to get. If you are rich, you can easily order a luxury
one from the counter at the arrival terminal though. This taxi is
a private car and appears to pay no tax.
Damri (state bus company) buses, which monopolize the public
transportation to and from this place, often arrive late. They
are often already full when they arrive and you must be ready to
stand. Actually they should pass Terminals One A, B and C before
proceeding to Terminal Two as they have to serve airplane
passengers.
Unfortunately, Damri bus drivers have recently changed this
route. They take some office and warehouse employees first, then
go to Terminal Two before entering Terminal One. This is really
disadvantageous to passengers with only limited time to spare,
particularly those due to take off from Terminal One.
Airplane passengers pay the airport tax but, strangely, some
public facilities in the area, like free telephones for local
calls, have gradually gone, replaced now by chip telephones, the
use of which is not free of charge. Fortunately, the cleaning
service men still keep the rest rooms in the airport lobby clean.
If PT Angkasa Pura, the airport management, intends to make
its services more professional, it should send its staff abroad
for a comparative study. Singapore's Changi airport, for example,
which is larger, more luxurious, more hygienic, more comfortable
and more humane, would be a good place to visit.
SUGENG HARTONO
Jakarta