TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi suggested regular flights, especially from airlines with wide-body aircraft, to serve the departure of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

This proposal follows Garuda Indonesia’s non-optimal operations in serving the departure of prospective Hajj pilgrims. The Ministry of Religious Affairs reported that the airline had delayed departure for up to 32 hours and 24 minutes.

The Ministry of Transportation has sent a warning to Garuda Indonesia following complaints. "I unfortunately have to reprimand Garuda Indonesia and State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN)," he said on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

This warning concerned the failure to operate several aircraft for Hajj due to technical issues which caused the delayed departure schedule at several Hajj embarkation points.

Ministry of Transportation also warned Garuda Indonesia about the Return to Base (RTB) incident of flight number GA 1105 from the Makassar embarkation point on May 15.

Budi said he had requested Garuda Indonesia to clarify the readiness of the aircraft used for the departure of prospective Hajj pilgrims. According to him, both Garuda Indonesia and SOEs have promised to improve services, especially for the 2024 Haj pilgrimage.

"Of course, the improvement includes the addition of new, better aircraft," he said.

NOVALI PANJI NUGROHO

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