President Director Of Garuda Indonesia Joins Pope Francis In Papua New Guinea

President Director of Garuda Indonesia Irfan Setiaputra (right) welcomes Pope Francis (center) in front of the entrance to the Airbus 330-900 Neo aircraft. (Photo: Garuda Indonesia)

JAKARTA - The leader of the worldwide Catholic Church as well as the Head of the Vatican Holy See State, Pope Francis left Indonesia after completing his abolic journey. The Pope will continue his trip to Papua New Guinea today.

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, also participated directly in escorting Pope Francis on the same flight using Garuda Indonesia aircraft.

"I took part in the flight (Pope Francis to Papua New Guinea)," said Irfan when contacted by VOI, Friday, September 6.

Irfan said Pope Francis used charter planes for flights to Papua New Guinea. Where, the fleet used is an A330-900neo aircraft with flight number GA-7780.

The Airbus 300-900neo is a wide-body aircraft or wide-body aircraft capable of carrying up to 301 passengers.

"It is an honor in itself when we can take part in one of the important moments for Indonesia, where Garuda Indonesia is fully trusted to take Pope Francis' journey to his next destination of his visit, namely Papua New Guinea," he said.

Irfan also said that as part of the service on Pope Francis' Special Flight this time, Garuda Indonesia assigned 16 crew members consisting of 4 cockpit crews and 12 cabin crews.

"Garuda Indonesia also brings a number of special touches to the services and touch points provided, including in flight menus and inflight materials," he explained.

For your information, Indonesia became the first country that Pope Francis visited in a series of visits to Asia-Pacific.

The leader of the World Catholic Church is in Indonesia from 3 to 6 September 2024.

After leaving Indonesia, Pope Francis will continue his journey to Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) and Vanimo from September 6 to 9, 2024, Dili (Timor Leste) from September 9 to 11, 2024, and Singapore from September 11 to 13, 2024.