JAKARTA - The reopening of the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages is a breath of fresh air for PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk. In fact, the BUMN with the stock code GIAA hopes that its income will increase by up to 30 percent.
The Main Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, said that in this year of Hajj 1443/2022, Garuda Indonesia will serve 47,915 pilgrims. According to Irfan, this will boost the company's revenue.
"Of course it's significant. Because traditionally, Umrah and Hajj are around 30 percent of our income. So of course we welcome the reopening of Umrah and Hajj," he told VOI when met at the Garuda Indonesia office, quoted Wednesday, June 8.
According to Irfan, especially for Umrah and Hajj flights, public enthusiasm is very high. This is because it has been two years since access to visit the Holy Land has been closed.
"So almost all of our flights were full during the umrah season yesterday, this has been closed (umrah) because it is the hajj season and all of our 7 planes are dedicated to hajj during the hajj season from June 4 to August 14," he said.
Start Departing 1,506 Hajj Pilgrims
On Saturday, June 4, Garuda Indonesia began carrying out Hajj flights 1443/2022, which was also the first departure for Indonesian pilgrims to the Holy Land. On that occasion, Garuda Indonesia transported at least 1,506 pilgrims through three flight routes, namely Jakarta-Medinah with 393 pilgrims, Padang-Medina with 393 pilgrims and Solo-Medina two flights with 720 pilgrims.
In this year of Hajj 1443/2022, Garuda Indonesia will serve 47,915 pilgrims who are divided into 128 flying groups (kloters) and will depart from 9 (nine) embarkations, namely Banda Aceh (2,023 pilgrims), Medan (3842 pilgrims), Padang (2,885 congregants), Jakarta (9,228 congregants), Solo (15,477 congregants), Banjarmasin (2,507 congregants), Balikpapan (2,639 congregants), Makassar (7236 congregants), and Lombok (2,078 congregants).
To transport the entire congregation, Garuda Indonesia operates seven wide body aircraft consisting of 4 B777-300ER aircraft, 1 A330-300 aircraft, and 2 A330-900neo aircraft. The transportation of the congregation itself will be divided into two phases, namely the departure phase which will take place on June 4-3 July 2022 and the return phase which will take place on July 16-14 August 2022.
Previously, Irfan said that Garuda Indonesia continued to strengthen operational preparations for Hajj services. Especially considering that this year's pilgrimage is a journey that has been awaited for more than 2 years.
"It is trusted to return to serving Hajj flights in the midst of this new habit of adaptation, of course, it is an honor and part of our manifestation as a national flag carrier to always be at the forefront of ensuring that the pilgrims' journey of worship can be carried out smoothly through the presence of safe and comfortable flight services. ," he said.
Irfan also said that as an effort to provide value-added services for the congregation, Garuda Indonesia presents a variety of Islamic nuanced In-flight Entertainment entertainment options during flights, both at the time of departure and upon return. Not only that, the congregation will also get in-flight catering according to the typical menu of the embarkation area.
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