Soekarno-Hatta Airport Respond to Viral Photo of Packed Queues

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Soekarno-Hatta International Airport's senior branch manager Febri Toga, confirmed the surge of passengers queue at the airport's Terminal 2 on Thursday, May 14, 2020, which was photographed by a person that eventually went viral online.

Febri explained that the packed crowd formed at around 04:00 AM Western Indonesia Time (WIB) and has been handled by state-airport operator Angkasa Pura II. 

"The queue took place at the document verification post. The prospective passengers already had tickets for the flights between 06:00 to 08:00 AM Western Indonesia Time (WIB)," said Febri on Thursday, May 14, 2020. 

Throughout the time period, Febri said there were 13 commercial flights from Lion Air Group and Citilink Indonesia and that the Angkasa Pura II officials had attempted to control the queue but were unable to do so due to the sheer large number of people. 

However, Febri assured that airport officials were able to disperse the queue to a safe distance not long after the photo of the queue went viral. 

"There are no more queues at Terminal 2. We always try to maintain safe physical distancing in each area," said the Soekarno-Hatta official, "Every stakeholder will evaluate this to better flight schedules to prevent a recurrence in the near future."

FRANCISCA CHRISTY ROSANA