As many as three flights of pilgrims departed for Medina from the Juanda Airport on the first day of haj embarkation, on Wednesday. A number of preparations have been made to ensure the smooth departure of the pilgrims.
By
RUNIK SRI ASTUTI
·3 minutes read
RUNIK SRI ASTUTI
The first group of pilgrims departing from Surabaya flew to the Saudi Arabian plane, Wednesday (24/5/2023).
SIDOARJO, KOMPAS — The first flight group (Kloter) of pilgrims for this year’s haj season departed the Juanda Airport, in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday. There were three flights of pilgrims to Medina on the first day of haj embarkation.
The first flight brought pilgrims from Bangkalan at 9:15. The second flight brought pilgrims from the cities of Madiun, Bangkalan and Surabaya at 11:15, while the third flight with pilgrims from Sampang, Bangkalan and Surabaya left Juanda Airport at 13:15.
Meanwhile, from Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Banten, it was reported the first haj embarkation was carried out from Tuesday night until dawn on Wednesday. There were a total of 7,510 pilgrims who were divided into 19 groups. The pilgrims from Jakarta were officially dispatched by Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas aboard the Garuda airplane.
The general manager of Juanda Airport, Sisyani Jaffar, said on Tuesday the departure for this year’s pilgrims from Surabaya would take place from 24 May to 22 June, and they will return between 4 July and 3 August.
To optimally serve the pilgrims, Juanda Airport has made a number of preparations, one of which is hardening the runway or overlay. The pavement is improved so wide body aircraft can land on the airport. The pavement work has been carried out since the middle of last year.
"By contract, the entire work package will be completed in mid-June. However, the priority works for the improvement of haj transportation services have all been completed so the runway is ready to be used to serve wide-body aircraft, namely the Boeing 747 series 400 with a capacity of 450 passenger seats, which will be operated by Saudi Arabia Airlines," he said.
According to the plan, a total of 36,938 pilgrims from East Java, Bali and East Nusa Tenggara will depart from Juanda Airport. In total, there will be 84 flight groups (Kloter), a sharp increase from 38 flights in the previous year.
KEMENAG
The first group of 388 prospective pilgrims for 2023 departed for Jeddah's King Abdul Aziz Airport, Saudi Arabia via Soekarno Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten, Wednesday (24/5/2023) early morning..
Running smoothly
Juanda Airport’s public relations manager Yuristo Ardhi Hanggoro said in order to ensure the departure process could be carried out smoothly, security, health and immigration checks were carried out at the Sukolilo Hajj Dormitory, Surabaya. The pilgrims who have also passed the required checks were then taken to Terminal 1 of Juanda Airport by bus.
"During the embarkation period, which lasts 30 days, we will serve two to three haj flights every day," said Yuristo.
The majority of them are in good condition even though many pilgrims are elderly.
The head of the regional office the Religious Affairs Ministry in East Java, Husnul Maram, said the pilgrims began to enter the Sukolilo Hajj Dormitory on Tuesday morning. The first group consisted of 445 haj candidates from Bangkalan who were accompanied by five haj officials.
"The pilgrims’ health was immediately examined by the Surabaya Port Health Office. The majority of them are in good condition even though many pilgrims are elderly," said Husnul. (Z09)
