Okay, it’s story time. Up until this point, my wild review trip was actually pretty seamless, and there were no hiccups… and then I arrived at Jakarta Airport. I was in transit, having flown Singapore Airlines first class from Singapore, connecting to Garuda Indonesia business class to Jeddah.
On this portion of the trip I was joined by Toby (yes, that Toby), as he happened to be in Singapore at the same time, and he’s always down to take a flight. So he flew with me to Jakarta, and then took a separate flight from there.
I had a long four hour layover, and I was expecting this would go smoothly. I was arriving at and departing from the same terminal, and Jakarta is Garuda Indonesia’s hub, so what could go wrong? Well… that’s a great question.
Has Jakarta Airport never seen a transit passenger before?!
For our separate flights beyond Jakarta, Toby managed to have a printed boarding pass for his connection, while I still needed my boarding pass. Fortunately I saw a Garuda Indonesia transfer desk upon entering the arrivals hall, so I figured they could print it there… though it wasn’t staffed.
So we both followed the signage toward transfers. The transfers security checkpoint was staffed with five people, even though there were seemingly no transfer passengers. The officers appeared caught off guard to have passengers going through security, and they looked at us as if we were from a different planet.
One of the security officers picked up his phone, and told us to wait. The transfer security checkpoint has a little sign that reads either “open” or “closed,” and once he picked up the phone, he switched it from “open” to “closed.” Lol.
We waited for around five minutes, and then eventually an airport handling agent showed up. He started taking pictures of our passports and itineraries. He explained that immigration hadn’t been informed that we were connecting, and that Singapore Airlines should have “sent a message.” Hmmm…
Let me just emphasize that everyone we interacted with was friendly, and they didn’t act as if we were doing anything wrong, or as if we were in trouble. They were just acting as if we were doing the most complicated thing they had ever dealt with.
The guy made several calls over the course of 10 minutes, and then eventually we were invited to go through transfer security, and the sign was moved back to “open.” He explained that he would help us, but it would be complicated, and we’d need permission from immigration.
At this point he asked us to have a seat in the Singapore Airlines gate area, right near the transfer security checkpoint. It wasn’t clear to me if that was just a recommendation, or an order. After five minutes, he told us that we should go to gate nine, and that the ladies seated there could at least help me get checked in.
So we went there. The ladies looked at my itinerary, but told me they wouldn’t be able to check me in. They said I’d have to report to “level two staff check-in.” Hmmm. So we went to level two, but then just found ourselves in the area where the immigration check lets out, with no sign of a “staff check-in” desk.
At this point I figured my best bet to get a boarding pass to go to the Garuda Indonesia Lounge, so I headed there. While I was admitted, they weren’t able to print my boarding pass. So at that point we headed back down to where we originally were. As we walked there, we crossed paths with two handling employees, including one of the people we had seen earlier.
At this point they took pictures of our itineraries, took pictures of our passports, and then took pictures of us holding up our passports. They explained that they needed to send these pictures to immigration.
We asked how long this would all take, and the woman said around 20-30 minutes. We asked if we could wait in the lounge. She said yes, so we headed over to the Plaza Premium Lounge. She was super nice, as she escorted us over there, so that she knew exactly where we were sitting. She said she’d eventually return with our immigration permission and my boarding pass.
“I am profiling you”
After around 30 minutes, the lady returned with my boarding pass, which was much appreciated. I thanked her profusely, and figured we were all set. Then she returned around five minutes later with another guy.
He didn’t speak much English, and said “I am profiling you.” Lol… that’s direct (in all honesty, I’m guessing he was just there to check my documents, or something). He then said “why are you Jeddah?” Okay, I figured he was asking why I was traveling to Jeddah, so I explained that I was in transit there, and continuing to Abu Dhabi. He was happy with that answer, and that was the extent of the discussion.
He then said “I need take picture with you for immigration.” That’s right, he needed a picture. Not, not of me, but with me. So I stood up, and then he stood next to me, he smiled, and he did a “thumbs up” motion. So I did a “thumbs up” too.
Toby snuck a picture of this interaction, and I think I’m going to hang the picture on my fridge. I have a very Ron DeSantis on the campaign trail disposition (though my shoes are flat).
Can anyone make sense of this?
I’ve been through a countless number of international airports, and have had some complicated transit situations. However, this was by far the strangest. I get that most people probably aren’t connecting in Jakarta on separate tickets, but it doesn’t seem like this should have been that complicated? I was flying Garuda Indonesia out of its hub, connecting between two other countries.
Let me again emphasize that everyone was super nice, and tried to be as helpful as they could. I’m not describing this as some nightmare transit, but rather just as a strange and kind of funny one.
I guess my main question is why this was so complicated? Does immigration really need to know in advance if you’re on separate tickets, and if so, how are you supposed to inform them? I showed the Singapore Airlines transit desk agent in Singapore my onward connection, so they knew I was connecting at the airport.
This didn’t seem to be a matter of needing a boarding pass, because Toby had the same issues, even though he had his connecting boarding pass.
Actually, my biggest question is why the guy who was “profiling” me needed to take a picture with me for immigration? In my millions of miles of flying, that was a first for me…
Bottom line
If you’re connecting at Jakarta Airport on separate tickets, be sure you leave lots of extra time, even if you’re connecting in the same terminal. For whatever reason, airport officials seem very confused by the concept of international connections, even if you’re arriving at and departing from the same terminal.
I’m not sure what to make of all this, but it sure was memorable. On the plus side, at least everyone was friendly and tried to be helpful, which can’t be said for some of my Cairo Airport transit purgatory experiences…
Can anyone shed some light on my Jakarta Airport transit experience?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.