First Week of Prospective Hajj Pilgrims' Flights Experienced Delays

Flights of prospective Indonesian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in the last week experienced many delays.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Pilgrimage candidates climb the airplane stairs before departing for the holy city of Mecca from Adi Soemarmo Airport, Boyolali Regency, Central Java, on Sunday (12/5/2024). The departure is the first wave of the Solo embarkation cluster.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — A number of flights for prospective Indonesian hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia experienced delays in the past week. Flights using Garuda Indonesia and Saudia Airlines. Delays for the two airlines were 47.5 percent and 18.06 percent respectively.

This is the evaluation of the Ministry of Religious Affairs regarding the departure of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia in the past week. Ministry of Religious Affairs spokesperson Anna Hasbie regrets the high number of flight delays in the first week, especially by Garuda Indonesia airline.

"In the first week, the percentage of delayed departures of Garuda Indonesia planes was very high, reaching 47.5 percent," said Anna in a press release in Jakarta on Monday (20/5/2024).

In the first week, the percentage of delays in departures for Garuda Indonesia planes was very high, reaching 47.5 percent.

According to Anna, the departure of Indonesian hajj pilgrims has been underway for a week. The first group (kloter) on several embarkations departed on May 12, 2024. Up to now, 152 kloters have been flown from the homeland to the Holy Land.

"Out of 80 flights, 38 of them experienced delays. There were even delays of up to 3 hours and 50 minutes. If totaled, the delays amounted to 32 hours and 24 minutes. This is certainly regrettable. We have issued a written warning for improvement in the future," he said.

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Officials arrange the luggage of prospective hajj pilgrims that will be loaded onto the plane at Adi Soemarmo Airport in Boyolali Regency, Central Java, on Sunday (12/5/2024). This departure marks the first wave of the Solo embarkation cluster.

Indonesia, still citing the press release from the Ministry of Religion, is allocated a quota of 241,000 pilgrims this year. This number is comprised of 213,320 regular hajj pilgrims and 27,680 special hajj pilgrims.

Regular pilgrimage candidates are flown by two airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Saudia Airlines. Garuda Indonesia will depart 109,072 candidates grouped into 294 clusters. Saudia Airlines will depart 260 clusters.

"For Saudia Airlines, in the past week, there has been a departure delay rate of 18.06 percent out of a total of 72 flights. The total delay amounts to 4 hours and 7 minutes. I hope that these delay incidents can continue to be reduced," said Anna.

This year, Indonesia has been allocated a quota of 241,000 pilgrims. This number consists of 213,320 members of the regular hajj pilgrimage and 27,680 members of the special hajj pilgrimage.

In the same press release, Director of Domestic Hajj Services at the Ministry of Religion, Saiful Mujab, stated that the longest delay from Garuda Indonesia was 3 hours and 50 minutes. This does not include several flights that had their schedules changed at the request of Garuda Indonesia.

"In this week, there have been several changes to the schedule, including Schedule 1 of the Solo or SOC-01 Embarkation and Schedule 6 of the Makassar or UPG-06 Embarkation, which were affected by the engine damage of Garuda Indonesia aircraft that were supposed to depart as Schedule 5 of UPG. For Saudia Airlines, the longest delay is 47 minutes," he said.

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

Prospective hajj pilgrims from Kloter 3 at the Surabaya embarkation, originating from Bojonegoro Regency, wave their hands before boarding the plane at Juanda Surabaya Airport in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Sunday (12/5/2025).

Saiful hopes that Garuda Indonesia and Saudia Airlines adhere to their commitment and work contract to depart Indonesian hajj pilgrims according to the agreed and established schedule.

This is because the delay of departures, especially for several hours or even causing schedule changes, will have an impact on the preparation of various services in Medina and Mecca.

The preparations that are meant include transportation, accommodation, and also catering. "Flight delays also have the potential to make pilgrims more tired because they have to wait too long," he said.

We have nothing to deny. It is continuing to focus on ensuring future improvements.

Director Main PT Garuda Indonesia Irfaniaputra admitted that there were shortcomings in the departure of prospective Indonesian Hajj pilgrims. "We have nothing to deny. "We are continuing to focus on ensuring improvements in the future," he said when contacted, Tuesday (21/5/2024).

Irfan said that a number of factors influenced flight delays, starting from the situation in the dormitory, the readiness of the plane, to the boarding process.

These things, according to Irfan, are the responsibility of Garuda Indonesia. Therefore, improvements will be made.

KOMPAS/RIZA FATHONI

Hajj candidates were transported by bus to the lodging building in the embarkation complex of Asrama Haji Pondokgede, East Jakarta, on Saturday (11/5/2024). A total of 440 hajj candidates from Banten, who were included in group 2, entered the hajj dormitory before departing to Mecca through Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

One issue that is in the spotlight is the GA-1105 flight route from Makassar (South Sulawesi) to Medina. The departure of this flight was delayed on Wednesday (15/5/2024).

The B747-400 aircraft carried at least 450 passengers and 18 crew members from Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar at 3:30 PM WITA. The plane was scheduled to arrive at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah at 9:10 PM local time.

After takeoff, one of the airplane's engines emitted sparks. The pilot decided to return to Sultan Hasanuddin Airport for further inspection to thoroughly check the aircraft's engine.

There were no casualties in this incident. However, prospective hajj pilgrims must return to the dormitory while waiting for the readiness of a replacement aircraft.

A group of Hajj candidates will fly on a Boeing 747-400 at 22:02 WITA and is scheduled to arrive in Medina on Thursday (16/5/2024) at 03.40 local time.