TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A Lion Air Duty Manager at Terminal 1A of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, who goes by the name of Dodi Andriyansyah, was furious when a number of passengers complained about not being able to board their flight, JT 552 to Yogyakarta, on Thursday morning, Ocotber 16, 2014.
Passengers said that Dodi went on a verbal tirade and threatened confused passengers with his fist. "Who do you think you are? I'm not afraid of you!," ranted Dodi while intimidating his passengers.
The incident began when tens of passengers were told that they were not allowed to check in at the check-in counter for Yogyakarta-bound JT 552, because the check-in time has passed.
A number of passengers became enraged because some of them saw Lion Air staffs selling tickets for the same flight to other passengers - at an inflated price.
"I was told that I was late for my flight. Some passengers ahead of me were told that there were some problems with the system, while others were told that the flight was overbooked. It can't be overbooked, because I was approached by a hawker who tried to sell me the same ticket, for a higher price," said a disgruntled passenger, Aji Nurohman.
Aji came to the airport at 06:00 am Western Indonesia Time to check-in, but saw that the line was already packed. Just after 06L30, Aji was told that he cannot board the plane.
Lion Air's Executive Director, Edward Sirait, said over the phone that his company will investigate the claims made during the incident. "I will check and investigate the matter. If indications of foul play are found, we will fire everyone who was on duty this morning," said Edward.
It is known that a number of the stranded passengers are journalists en route to cover an event in Yogyakarta.
ANTARANEWS
