Hundreds of passengers of foreign nationals (WNA) piled up at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Soetta), Tangerang, Banten, on Monday, December 28 evening.

The reason is that the foreigners are waiting in line to undergo the health protocol, namely the placement of quarantine locations.

As is known, the buildup of foreigners occurred after the government announced that it would prohibit entry for foreigners to Indonesian territory from January 1 to 14, 2021. This measure is to prevent the transmission of the mutation of the COVID-19 virus originating from the UK.

Head of Soekarno-Hatta Class I Port Health Office, dr. Darmawali Handoko said there were around 200 international passengers waiting at Terminal 3 of International Arrival to undergo the quarantine process.

“There were around 200 people last night, but basically all of them have been transferred to the hotel,” he said, in a written statement received by VOI, Tuesday, December 29.

For your information, on December 28 the COVID-19 Task Force issued Circular Letter Number 4 of 2020 concerning the Travel Health Protocol for People During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Based on this circular, the foreigners referred to in the SE 03 2020 addendum are all foreigners who arrived on December 28 to 31, 2020. As for January 1 to 14, 2021, all foreigners are not allowed to enter Indonesia.

According to the circular issued by the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, international route passengers, both Indonesian citizens, and foreigners, arriving in Indonesia starting December 28, 2020, are required to quarantine for five days.

International travelers and Indonesian citizens from Europe and Australia who enter Indonesia, either directly or transiting in a foreign country, must show negative results through the RT-PCR test in the country of origin which is valid a maximum of 2×24 hours before departure time. As for Indonesian citizens traveling from England to follow these provisions.

The addendum also states that RT-PCR re-examination is also carried out upon arrival, in which if the result is negative, either the Indonesian citizen or foreigner must quarantine for five days.

Meanwhile, Colonel Pas MA Silaban said the process of carrying out this quarantine made international route passengers somewhat hampered from being able to leave Terminal 3 for International Arrivals on the evening of December 28.

“It must also be confirmed regarding the readiness of the quarantine location that passengers on this international route have to go to. Once this is confirmed, new passengers are allowed to leave Terminal 3 of International Arrival to be escorted by bus to the quarantine location,” said Silaban.

Furthermore, he said, this quarantine process led to a congestion at SoekarnoPHatta Airport, as in the photos circulating on social media. Moreover, he said, a number of planes also arrived at the same time.

For Indonesian citizens, quarantine is carried out in special quarantine accommodation provided by the government. Meanwhile, for foreigners, quarantine is carried out at quarantine accommodation with independent costs, either hotels or inns that have received certification for the implementation of COVID-19 quarantine accommodation by the Ministry of Health.

At the quarantine location, the PCR test will be carried out twice, first upon arrival and the second within the next five days.

Meanwhile, Soekarno-Hatta Airport Executive General Manager Agus Haryadi said support was always given to the Air Task Force for Handling COVID-19 in meeting the applicable health protocols.

“The entire process at the airport is smooth, starting from the plane landing process, baggage handling by ground handling, to checking eHAC and health, immigration, and Customs documents,” he said.

Not only that, Agus also emphasized that his party ensures that all international aircraft passenger arrival processes comply with health protocols and run smoothly.