Soekarno-Hatta Airport Must Improve Flight SOPs Or COVID-19 Transmission Increases

JAKARTA - The queue for prospective passengers at Soekarno-Hatta Airport this morning was busy being discussed. Many criticized and worried about the transmission of COVID-19 from the crowd of potential passengers that occurred because of the flight document inspection at Terminal 2.

Based on photos circulating on social media, it appears that hundreds of potential passengers are lined up neatly. Even though they wear masks, they do not keep the distance as instructed by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Transportation observer from the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI), Djoko Setijowarno, assessed that Soekarno-Hatta Airport managers and airlines should have anticipated a build-up of passengers.

This is because they also serve to verify passenger requirements to be allowed to board the plane at the time of the corona virus outbreak. However, the crowd was unavoidable.

Therefore, Djoko sees that there is a need for an evaluation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) in reopening public transportation services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

First, the operator must arrange a longer schedule and time interval between passengers who will verify flight documents.

"The time per person for verification should have been calculated beforehand. Terminal 3 can be regular, so Terminal 2 and Terminal 1 should be able to do it," said Djoko when contacted by VOI, Thursday, May 14.

In addition, Soekarno-Hatta Airport managers do not hesitate to impose sanctions if the airline does not comply with the rules in Circular (SE) Number 4 of 2020 concerning Criteria for Restricting Travel of People in the Context of Accelerated Handling of COVID-19.

"Give sanctions to airlines that violate the rules that make physical distancing efforts ineffective," he said.

In addition, Soekarno Hatta Airport managers must supervise ticket sales of each airline operator so that they do not exceed the permitted capacity. This is also to anticipate the build-up of queues for verification of passenger files in one departure schedule.

As is well known, the Senior Manager of Branch Communication and Legal of Soetta Airport, Febri Toga Simatupang, confirmed the buildup of prospective passengers. This happened at Terminal 2 Gate 4 of Soekarno Hatta Airport at around 04.00 WIB, Thursday, May 14.

The queue for prospective passengers occurred because there was an examination of three documents, namely flight tickets, official certificates and COVID-19 free certificates before flying to the destination city. If the prospective passengers meet these three requirements, the officer will invite them to participate in the pilot.

"Yes, it is true (queues). There is special treatment prior to this departure because at least the passenger must fulfill three important documents," said Febri to VOI.

The build-up of queues is claimed to have occurred not too long. In less than an hour, conditions at the document inspection site returned to normal. This means that prospective passengers come and go quickly so that the buildup of queues unravels in no time.

"The queue at the document verification post started at 04.00 WIB, with prospective passengers having plane tickets for flights between 06.00-08.00 WIB," said Febri.