Soekarno-Hatta Quarantine Queue Goes Viral; Officials Tight-Lipped

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A video which has gone viral in social media shows a large number of travelers who just arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport’s arrival area waiting in queue for multiple hours for the quarantine process at the Wisma Atlet Hospital 

The woman recording the hectic situation said they had to wait until dawn at 04:00 Western Indonesia Time (WIB). In her narration, she and fello travelers there queued from noon the previous day. 

Her video shows many people sleeping on the floor and baggage conveyor belt, waiting for their turn for the quarantine process. She also claimed that other people in the queue she spoke to were offered hotel quarantine with steep prices. 

The unidentigied woman said most of the travelers in the queue are migrant workers with some tourists who intend to go on vacation. Many of the travelers refused the hotel quarantine option due to the hefty price tag. 

“We have the right for the services at Wisma Atlet. But there were many brokers who kept persuading us to take the hotel quarantine option instead. Mam, Rp19 million per person. That is insane, these mafias are insane,” the woman said. 

A source for Tempo - who wishes to have their identity kept secret - at the Soekarno-Hatta airport said the accumulation of travelers waiting to be quarantined happened since Friday, December 17. “The passenger accumulation has already formed from the customs area and baggage collection area,” said the source. 

Tempo attempted to confirm this to Soekarno-Hatta Airport officials but was met with silence. Requests for interviews were not responded to by airport executive general manager Agus Haryadi, Port Health Office Head and Commander of Soekarno-Hatta Covid-19 task force Colonel Agus Listiyono. 

Read: Super Air Jet Plane Returns to Soekarno-Hatta Airport Shortly After Takeoff

JONIANSYAH HARDJONO