Phase I Completed, Garuda Indonesia Flying 110,404 Prospective Hajj Pilgrims

President Director of Garuda Indonesia Irfan Setiaputra. (Photo: Mery Handayani/VOI)

JAKARTA - PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk has completed Phase I (departure) of Hajj 1444/2023 flight with a total of 110,404 pilgrims being flown.

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, said that the prospective pilgrims who had been flown were divided into 305 flying groups (kloters). The landing was carried out from May 24 to June 23, 2023.

Furthermore, Irfan said, the completion of phase I of the Hajj 1444/2023 flight was marked by the departure of 165 prospective pilgrims from the Batam embarkation which was served by GA-3502 to Jeddah at 22:41 local time, last Friday, June 23.

All prospective pilgrims also include additional hajj quotas that have previously been determined by the Indonesian Ministry of Religion, which in addition to being served from the nine embarkations that have been previously determined, are also served from five additional embarkations, namely Jakarta-Bekasi, Kertajati, Surabaya, Palembang, and Batam.

Irfan also detailed the prospective pilgrims flown by Garuda Indonesia, from Banda Aceh as many as 4,560 pilgrims, Balikpapan (6,082 pilgrims), Banjarmasin (5,568 worshipers), Batam (476 congregants), Jakarta (19,366 congregants), and Jakarta-Bekasi (393 worshipers).

Then, Kertajati (318), Lombok (4,999 congregants), Makassar (16,864 congregants), Medan (8,142 congregants), Padang (6,607 congregants), Palembang (333 congregants), Solo (35,291 congregants), and Surabaya (1,405 congregants).

In this departure phase, Garuda Indonesia recorded On Time Performance (OTP) of 88.9 percent.

He said, Garuda Indonesia is trying to optimize its support for Hajj flight services, especially in ensuring safe, comfortable and seamless flight services for all Indonesian Hajj pilgrims.

"Successful completing flight services for more than 100,000 pilgrims is something we are very grateful for," he said in an official statement, Tuesday, June 27.

Moreover, continued Irfan, this year's Hajj flight presents its own challenges for Garuda Indonesia, where the total number of elderly pilgrims from Indonesia, which reached more than 30 percent, was recorded as the largest in the last 10 years.

Irfan said that the congregation needed to fulfill a number of safety and comfort support needs, such as the availability of wheelchairs, priority boarding, emergency equipment.

"The most important needs are the readiness of ground workers and cabin crew in helping elderly pilgrims, ranging from pre-flight, in-flight, to post-flight," he said.

Furthermore, said Irfan, Garuda will prepare Phase II (the return) to be held from July 4 to August 3, 2023.

Irfan emphasized that his party continues to monitor the operational readiness of Phase II (return) of Hajj 1444/2023 flights through intensive coordination with all relevant stakeholders and airport authorities.

"This is to ensure that the process of returning this year's Hajj can run well and smoothly, so that the pilgrims can get safe and comfortable services, and arrive back in the country safely," concluded Irfan.