Though my past posts may have leaned towards the Jambi immigration officials, if I had to choose my favorite favorite public workers it would probably have to be be Jambi airport officials. And I swear this is not just because the local Lion Air office recognize it’s me when I make a reservation through PKBI’s regular travel agent. As people in America and around the world are facing stricter flight security resulting in longer waits, people flying within Indonesia are still able to breeze through check-in and security. For instance, my last flight from Jambi to Jakarta had just about as much security as the entrance to the high-end shopping mall I went to in downtown Jakarta.
This notorious process follows that after a quick check-in, with no photo ID needed, passengers do indeed put their bags through a scanner. However, this fails to provide even a reassuring facade of safety when you notice the lackadaisical behavior of the supposed security officials who are “watching” the scanner screen, and the fact that every single bag makes it through without a double check. This included mine, which had a full water bottle attached, a laptop, and enough liquid toiletries inside to bring fury to the eyes of TSA official. On another occasion flying home from Jakarta I never actually physically checked-in since a friend had already collected my plane ticket, so I just grabbed it in the entrance way and proceeded through “security” and on to the gate, never showing ID to anyone.
Recently on my way back from KL to Jambi, AirAsia did feign to provide a little more security by posting the ‘No Liquids’ sign in front of its scanning machines. I took a chance with this one and submitted my bag a la usual. The security worker here did pause, look at my bag, and say “liquid?” Without leading on to the numerous liquids inside my bag, I consoled him by promising I would finish the water bottle before getting on the plane. A security official in the US would not even let me get in the line to go through security with the liter full of water!
On a more friendly side of things, due to the close community of my town, and the paucity of foreigners, I can also be fairly sure I will run into someone I know, or at least someone who knows me, or knows a friend that knows me, while waiting at the airport. This last time it happened to be a teacher at a Jambi high school where SIKOK has its sex-ed program, DAKU. We ended having seats next to each other on the plane and she insisted on driving me home from the airport upon arrival.
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