Umrah Congregants Fail to Fly from Juanda Airport, Surabaya KKP Head Blames Airlines

SURABAYA - Dozens of Umrah pilgrims from East Java failed to fly due to not being able to validate health documents because there were no Port Health Office (KKP) officers guarding Terminal 2 of Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Monday, September 26.

The head of the Surabaya Class I KKP, Slamet Mulsiswanto, said that there were no officers at the airport because they were not notified by the airline.

"So far, we have coordinated through WhatsApp groups. On Sunday, I asked for information regarding the Umrah pilgrims who will depart on Monday. But the information conveyed (the airline) stated that there was a group of pilgrims at 10.00 WIB who would fly to the Holy Land, so the new officers were on standby at 07.00 WIB", Slamet confirmed, Wednesday, September 28.

Because there were no flights, continued Slamet, Surabaya KKP officers did not place officers in the validation section. For this reason, the KKP officers were only on standby at the airport at 07.00 WIB.

"We have SOPs every day, 3-4 hours before the departure of Umrah pilgrims, our officers are on standby for validation. That is even if there is information from the airline because it is the airline that has the flight schedule", he said.

Meanwhile, Public Relations of Angkasa Pura Juanda Airport Surabaya, Yuristo Ardhi Hanggoro, confirmed that 31 of the 94 Umrah pilgrims from East Java had left for Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the fate of the remaining 63 pilgrims remains unclear until Wednesday, September 28, 2022.

"As many as 31 pilgrims have departed through Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport, then continued to Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Airport last Tuesday. While the rest are still waiting at the hotel", said Yuris.

Previously, dozens of Java and East Java Umrah pilgrims failed to go to the Holy Land. The reason is that they have not been validated because the Surabaya Class 1 Port Health Office (KKP) Officer at that time was not at Juanda Airport on Monday, September 26.

The Umrah pilgrims who failed to leave came from various regions in East Java, such as Probolinggo, Jember, Bondowoso, and Situbondo. The failure of 63 Umrah pilgrims to leave for this holy land was due to the absence of an International Certificate Vaccination (ICV) document validation officer at the airport.

The chairman of the Muslim Association for Hajj and Umrah Organizers of the Republic of Indonesia (AMPHURI) East Java, Sofyan Arif, assessed that the 63 Umrah pilgrims who failed to leave were due to the negligence of the Surabaya Class I Port Health Office staff.

In fact, he said, international flights require screening and verification of the health of airplane passengers, but KKP officers are not at the airport.

Without any health verification from the KKP, the immigration authorities at Juanda Airport did not allow the 63 Umrah pilgrims to fly.