Australians travelling to Indonesia should expect to cross paths with more airport police after the Southeast Asian country raised security levels for all gateways.
Over the next few months all Indonesians airports will be guarded with extra army personnel, police and sniffer dogs.
According to Transport Ministry Aviation Director General, Suprasetyo, increased airport security is in response to recent terror activity in Paris as well as those on Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines flights.
“The aviation security increase is due to Paris incident.”
Suprasetyo, Transport Ministry Aviation Director General
All airport guards and army personnel have been advised to conduct random vehicle checks, walk around with more sniffer dogs to patrol cargo and baggage plus work closer with intelligence officers.
Meanwhile, earlier this month the Australian government revealed plans to reduce red tape for travel from Indonesia to Australia.
The government extended the current one-year visa to three years, giving Indonesian nationals the chance to visit Australia as many times as they like within 36 months.
Additionally, the government expanded the online visa lodgement to all Indonesian citizens by 2017, making the process of applying for an Australian visa simpler for Indonesian tourists and business people.
Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton, said the initiatives will benefit both Indonesians and Australia by strengthening business and tourism links.
“This change reflects Australia’s close relationship with Indonesia and is part of the Government’s agenda to boost our tourism sector and reduce red tape.”
Peter Dutton, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
According to latest tourism figures, in 2014 Australia received around 150,200 visitors from Indonesia to Australia – up six percent compared to 2013.
