JAKARTA – Holes in Indonesia’s airport security systems are having a negative impact on tourism, a seminar heard this week.
The Jakarta Post reported that speakers at the seminar advised Indonesia to design an integrated aviation and airport security system involving the National Police as the primary source of security.
A Netherlands-educated technical assistant for airport security, Michael Boudewijn, told the seminar on aviation and airport security that holes in the country’s aviation security system had large consequences on the tourism industry, leaving undesirable first impressions as people entered the country.
“The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) doesn’t provide a standard organisation model, so each country should decide the allocations for specific responsibilities and tasks. It’s a painful process that requires continuous trial and error,” Boudewijn said.
Gayus Lumbuun, a legislator of the Commission III for security affairs, said the structure and competencies of the National Police needed to be modified to the requirements of providing security at an international airport before they could be fully involved in airport security.
“Learned from experience, it is always best to leave airport security in the hands of the state police, no matter how corrupt the institution is.”
Airport security in Indonesia is handled by state-owned airport operators PT Angkasa Pura I and II.
The seminar heard that the discovery of a baggage theft ring at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on October 25 was one example of how poorly the national aviation and airport security system was coordinated by implementing agencies.
The ring consisted of 21 people employed as baggage handlers by a ground-handling company.
