They prey on travellers desperate for a ticket during busy periods. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
JAKARTA - TICKET touts are making use of security loopholes at Indonesia's airports to sell tickets on domestic flights at inflated prices, as they prey on travellers desperate for a ticket during busy periods.
While the Indonesian government is boosting security in airline travel with new biometric passports and electronic identity cards, one major gap remains. Travellers - whether local or foreign - who fly within Indonesia are required to produce formal identification before they board their flights, but this rule is often not closely enforced.
This has allowed ticket cartels to spring up at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport - where 44 million domestic passengers passed through last year - hawking domestic air tickets registered under random names.
Analysts say the security loophole could allow all sorts of criminals, including terror suspects on the run, to move around the country.
The Sunday Times spoke to four ticket touts at the airport's domestic terminal who explained the process, though they did not want to be named.
It starts with travel agents making advance block bookings of seats on various airlines in busy travel periods, such as long weekends or festive holidays. The reservations are made under fake names - something that cannot be done with international flights, as this requires passport numbers to be given.
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