Minister Of Transportation Budi Karya Review Quarantine Facilities At Juanda Airport Surabaya: There Are 1,500 Rooms For 10-day Quarantine

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi (center) during a working visit to Juanda Airport, East Java (Photo: Doc. Kemenhub)

JAKARTA - Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi made a working visit to East Java to check the readiness of quarantine facilities integrated with Juanda Airport.

During his visit, the Minister of Transportation said that the government had prepared around 1,500 quarantine rooms to anticipate the arrival of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) from abroad.

"This review is in order to follow up on the plan to open international flights from Juanda Airport, especially for PMIs, to prevent overcrowding of international arrivals at Soekarno Hatta Airport, which reaches 3,000 to 4,000 passengers per day," he said in a press statement, Sunday, 26 December.

According to the Minister of Transportation, around 30 percent of PMIs come from East Java, Central Java and NTB. For this reason, he considered that it would be better if Juanda Airport was opened to serve PMIs.

"We have coordinated with the Pangdam, Kapolda, Regional Secretary, and other related elements. We will prepare in Juanda like what was done at Soetta Airport," he said.

Furthermore, the Minister of Transportation revealed that the quarantine facilities were ready to be used.

"At least 1,500 rooms must be prepared. So it can accommodate around 100 to 150 people to quarantine for 10 days," he continued.

On the same occasion, Pangdam V Brawijaya Nurcahyanto said he was ready to support the plan to open Juanda Airport to serve PMIs from abroad.

"We, with the support of the Regional Police Chief, the Governor, and all relevant agencies, are ready to carry out the tasks assigned by the central government," he said.