Soekarno-Hatta Airport to See More Foreign Arrivals from China Today

TEMPO.CO, Tangerang - As the Indonesian government bars Eid al-Fitr mass exodus or mudik, two flights carrying foreign nationals from China will reportedly arrive at Soekarno-Hatta Airport today, May 10, 2021.

Based on information received by Tempo, the first flight is Garuda Indonesia GA 8990 from Guangzhou with 94 passengers onboard that will land at 6:20 pm, while the second flight is Lion Air JT 2618 from Wuhan carrying 66 passengers that will arrive at 8:15 p.m.

Soekarno-Hatta Airport’s Senior Manager of Branch Communication and Legal Affairs, M Holik Muwardi, said the two flights were not listed on the airport’s data. “Perhaps, they are not regular flights,” he said.

Immigration Directorate General spokesman Arya Pradhana Anggakara has not yet responded to Tempo’s questions regarding the foreign arrivals from China. 

The Immigration DG previously confirmed three flights from China arrived in the past week. On Saturday night, Anggakara said in a written statement that the Chinese nationals had fulfilled immigration rules as they presented work visas and passed the medical checkup based on the COVID-19 protocols.

Meanwhile, Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) head Djoko Setijowarno said today the government was inconsistent in enforcing the mudik ban policy, as it had let hundreds of Chinese nationals enter Indonesia amid the ban.

Read: Eid al-Fitr: Indonesian Immigration on Alert for Arrivals of Migrant Workers

JONIANSYAH HARDJONO