Airport shuttles are seen on Dec 3, 2021 at Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra. - Antara
JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): The operator of Kualanamu International Airport in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, has dismissed five members of staff following the death of a 43-year-old woman who is thought to have fallen down an elevator shaft at the airport.
PT Angkasa Pura Aviasi Kualanamu Airport dismissed two senior managers in charge of operational and technical functions and three security personnel in charge of the CCTV system.
Executive director Achmad Rifai said that the dismissals were part of a personnel evaluation and an improvement in procedures at the airport. Rifai said the measures were taken following the discovery of the body of Asiah Shinta Dewi Hasibuan at the airport on April 27.
“We fully support the process carried out by the authorities while we wait for the results of a police investigation,” Rifai said on Tuesday (May 2).
Rifai also apologised to the public for the incident. Asiah’s body was discovered in an airport elevator shaft on Thursday after being reported missing three days previously.
Deli Serdang Police have questioned 12 witnesses. Head of criminal investigations Comr. I Kadek H. Cahyadi said the police had questioned airport officials and security personnel and also asked for information from the victim’s family.
Her family said Asiah was on a phone call with her niece, who was at the airport prior to departing for Malaysia on April 24, when she became trapped in the elevator.
The family had asked the airport management to check the CCTV recording thoroughly after losing contact with Asiah, but the management refused citing procedures.
The family was also forbidden from checking the elevator’s CCTV. Asiah's family members asked airport officials to help look for her. When they failed to do so, the family members conducted their own search to no avail.
