Originally Posted by
tdmuw
I used the JFK/NRT/CKG routing to make an SE Asia trip. On the return I'll be arriving in CGK on a separate, non-oneworld international flight ~8 hours before the JL departure from CGK. If I only carry on bags would I be able to stay airside in CGK and check-in for AA8498/JL726 at the gate? Or is there a complication (passport check, CDC document for US entry, AA codeshare, etc) that would force me to enter Indonesia to check in at the desk? I'd like to avoid purchasing an entry visa as well as lots of downtime at check-in waiting for the desk to open.
I was able to make the transfer airside without entering Indonesia at CGK, but it was a very slow and painful process. JL wouldn't provide a digital or print-at-home boarding pass for my CGK-NRT flight, I believe this was because they needed to do a CDC attestation doc check. Airport staff let me know the international transfer desk in Terminal 3 is completely closed after waiting there for an hour for someone to show up. Eventually an airport manager came by to help. They took my passport and vaccination documentation, walked it to the JL check-in desk, got my boarding pass from that check-in desk and brought it back to me and then escorted me to the departure gate through another security check. He actually did quite a bit of work and deserved a tip. In the end it worked out but it was a huge pain and I had to wait in the arrivals hall (nothing at all there except a bathroom and security officers) until the JL check-in desk opened (3 hours before departure). All this to save the $35 visa fee, I'm not sure it was worth it.