Garuda Indonesia to Move All International Flights to New Terminal 3 From May 1
Jakarta. Indonesia's flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura II announced on Friday (21/04) the airline will start operating international flights to and from the new Terminal 3 — now called T3 — at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng, Banten, on May 1.
In a joint statement sent to the media on Friday (21/04), Garuda said it has completed all the simulations required to qualify to use the new terminal for international flights, including check-in, boarding, luggage-handling, departure, arrival and safety procedures.
The state-controlled airline has also wrapped up all the administrative verification required by the authorities, it said.
"The simulations have been done several times involving hundreds of passengers, immigration officers, customs and excise officers, officers from Gapura Angkasa [a state-owned company] for ground handling and other stakeholders," AP II Corporate Secretary and Legal Head Agus Haryadi said in the statement.
Earlier, The Ministry of Transportation had said that infrastructure intended for handling international flights at Terminal 3 was already 90 percent complete.
Garuda is looking to operate 30 international flights from the new terminal. International flights by other airlines will still use the old Terminal 2 for the time being, Agus added.
T3 was opened in August last year, but has been beset with problems from the start, including a collapsed roof and a flash flood at its arrival gate.
Despite its teething problems, T3's opening has helped Soekarno-Hatta airport win a World's Most Improved Airports 2017 mention from Skytrack, a UK-based consultancy firm that runs an airline and airport review and ranking site.
The new terminal has 64 immigration counters (32 counters each for departure and arrival), 30 immigration autogates (15 each for departure and arrival), 6 baggage claim points, 6 airbridges and a covered carpark that can fit a total of 1,200 cars and motorcycles.
"T3 is designed to be more than just a place of transit. It will be a hub that offers everything from cinema to food and drinks and other sundries," Agus said.
The new terminal offers more than 45,000 square meters of commercial area and a walkthrough layout that allows passengers to window shop effectively.
Terminal 3 will be connected to the other terminals at the airport by Skytrain, which will allow passengers to switch terminals easily," Agus said, adding that the Skytrain will also be connected to Jakarta's airport train service currently being developed by the government.
Garuda Indonesia Corporate Communications Vice President Benny S. Butarbutar said it has followed a directive from the Transport Ministry to inform the public of the move to T3 since mid-April.
Garuda said all of its premium services, including pre-flight services for international flights, premium check-in, Skypriority, crew transit, premium executive lounge, premium arrival and international baggage services are already available in the new terminal.
The airline and AP II will operate monitoring posts installed on crucial points at the new terminal to ensure a smooth service from day one.
Garuda plans to open 28 check-in counters and an executive lounge that can accommodate up to 2,100 passengers in the terminal.
Currently, Garuda operates 30 international flights out of a daily total of 187 flights at Soekarno-Hatta airport.
Garuda, however, urges passengers to come earlier than scheduled to the new T3 just in case there is any snag in operation after its opening.
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