JAKARTA (THE JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Indonesia's state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II has opened a new rapid test station for passengers traveling via the main Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.
Unlike the other rapid test stations at the airport, the new facility is located in the Airport Health Center in the Small, Medium & Micro Business Incubator with Learning and Experience Center (SMMILE Center) at Terminal 3 and it features an outdoor area as well as a drive-through service.
PT Angkasa Pura II president director Muhammad Awaluddin said in a statement on Sunday (Dec 6) that since the pandemic hit, the airport operator had been trying to innovate to assist the implementation of health protocols.
"The Airport Health Center in the SMMILE Center at Terminal 3 is among PT Angkasa Pura II's efforts to provide a complete Covid-19 test facility (and) it's conducted by Farmalab, a subsidiary of state-owned pharmaceutical firm PT Indofarma," he said, as quoted by antaranews.com.
Mr Awaluddin added that the new facility was established in preparation for the Christmas and New Year traffic.
Last month, PT Angkasa Pura II announced that it had been preparing time slots for airlines that seek to increase the flight frequency for the year-end break.
Mr Awaluddin said the company and its stakeholders would ensure that flight operations run smoothly over the Christmas and New Year holidays.
With regard to the new rapid test facility, he said the location was chosen to make passengers feel more comfortable when taking a Covid-19 test.
"The station is located in an outdoor area and near a number of commercial tenants," he said.
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia's biggest airport, is currently operating a few rapid test stations, including at the Skytrain Station at Terminal 2.
The service includes a doctor's certificate and it costs Rp 85,000 (S$8) per passenger.
In addition to these stations, the airport also hosts drive-through rapid test stations at the Soewarna Business Park, including those provided by low-cost airline AirAsia and ticketing app Traveloka.
Ever since the World Health Organisation declared Covid-19 a pandemic on March 11, air travel has been considered a risky business and is among the travel activities that have significantly changed in terms of procedures and regulations to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Over the past few months, rapid or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test stations have been a common sight at airports around the globe to help travelers get tested just before their flight as part of the new health protocols.
All passengers, including in Indonesia, are now required to obtain a test result before they get on the plane showing that they are either coronavirus-negative or, in the case of the rapid test, nonreactive.
