[Kabar-indonesia] Medan's Polonia Airport opens its first dedicated cargo terminal

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post 
Monday, October 2, 2006

New Cargo terminal operating at Medan's Polonia Airport 

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

A cargo terminal, operated by state-owned airport operator PT Polonia, opened 
to the public Sunday at Polonia Airport in Medan. 

It is the first time the 144-hectare airport, which was built in 1928, has 
had a dedicated cargo terminal. 

Frido Frinaldo, the head of the company's Medan office, said a government 
regulation required each airport to have its own cargo terminal. 

He said that a warehouse at the airport had previously been used for cargo 
services. 

"The cargo terminal at Polonia Airport constitutes the fourth ever built in 
Indonesia after Padang (in West Sumatra), Palembang (South Sumatra) and 
Makassar (South Sulawesi). 

"There are still many other airports that do not abide by the regulation, 
including Soekarno-Hatta airport," Frido told The Jakarta Post. 

He said the new terminal was equipped with digital weighing equipment and 
X-ray generating machines. 

Before the cargo terminal opened it had been difficult to screen all cargo, 
resulting in some flights carrying too much weight, Frido said. 

He expressed hope that the new facility would lower the risk of plane 
crashes. 

The new cargo services, however, have confused some customers. 

Armansyah, an employee of a private expedition company, said the new system 
was so complicated he had made a number of mistakes in sending a container. He 
said airport staff did not appear to be familiar with the system either. 

"They should have learned the ropes before the cargo terminal opened. This is 
important to prevent any confusion," Armansyah said. 

Frido, however, said airport staff had been learning about the system in the 
days before the terminal opened, and it was only a few individuals who needed 
more training. 

He said containers were first sent to PT Gapura Angkasa or other cargo 
companies for processing. 

After accompanying documents were processed, the cargo was sent to the 
terminal to be weighed and screened before being loaded onto the plane, he said. 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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