New Jakarta airport terminal flooded just days after opening

The operator of the Indonesian capital’s main airport has apologised to passengers for flooding at its brand new terminal after rains overcame drainage pipes and inundated the arrivals area on Sunday.

The US$560 million terminal opened last week to domestic flights by national carrier Garuda but has been plagued by complaints about its lack of readiness.

The airport operator and government hope the new terminal, and a third runway that is under development, will relieve overcrowding at Soekarno-Hatta airport and make Jakarta a rival to Singapore and Bangkok for international stopovers in Southeast Asia.

PT Angkasa Pura II, the airport operator, said it brought the flooding under control within an hour and is investigating the cause.

Local media said drains might have been clogged by construction debris.