Grounded Aircraft Delays Departure of 447 Surabaya Hajj Pilgrims
25 August 2016 15:24 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Surabaya - The departure of flight group number 40 from Surabaya has had to be delayed as the aircraft that was bound to take them towards Saudi Arabia encounters some technical problems. As a result, 447 would-be pilgrims have had to be temporarily housed at Surabaya's Somerset Hotel until a replacement aircraft could be found.
"There are some technical issues with the aircraft," said a Saudi Airlines staff who refused to be named to Tempo at the Somerset Hotel on Thursday, August 25, 2016. The staff claimed that no one knows for sure about the time that the ground technicians will need to get the aircraft back up and running.
As a result of the technical fault, 447 would-be Hajj pilgrims - the majority of which comes from Surabaya, Gresik, Mojokerto, and Jombang - had to delay their plans until the airline provides any alternative arrangement. These pilgrims were due to flight on a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SV5413 from Sidoarjo's Juanda International Airport on 07.10 Western Indonesia Time (WIB) on Thursday, August 25, 2016.
A small conflict had almost broken out as several of the would-be pilgrims were not compensated with breakfast - despite the initial delays and the aircraft strict rules about not allowing passengers from carrying food and beverage from outside the aircraft.
"We have been on standby since 3 a.m. at the Pilgrimage Hall, and as of 11 a.m., 12 people have yet to be given their share of breakfast," said the Head of Gresik's Second Contingent, Rusdi Mustaji Martono.
Izzah Maulidah, a hopeful-pilgrim from Gresik, complained about the lack of transparency from the airline's ground staff - claiming that she did not hear about the aircraft being out of service until passenger mentioned it in passing, which was then confirmed when Saudi's ground staff announced that the airline had booked two nights accommodation as a compensation for the delay.
As this article goes online, Saudi Arabian Airlines has yet to release a formal explanation relating to the incident.
ARTIKA RACHMI FARMITA
