REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - State owned airline company, PT Garuda Indonesia rents 12 units of aircrafts to carry hajj pilgrims from Indonesia. During this hajj season, Garuda will carry 90,108 pilgrims from 10 embarkations.
"We rent 12 aircrafts in order not to interupt our regular flights," Vice Presiden Communication of Garuda Indonesia, Pujobroto said on Tuesday.
Twelve aircrafts are leased from United Kingdom, Malaysia and Spain through third party. Those aricrafts are rented for three months.
The first batch of hajj pilgrims flew on Tuesday from seven embarkations simulataneously. Those seven embarkations are Jakarta, Padang, Solo, Balikpapan, Makassar, Lombok, and Medan.
Minister of Religious Affairs Suryadharma Ali and Governor of Jakarta Joko Widodo saw off the first batch flew from Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta. It is the first time since 1998 the airport is used as point of hajj departure.
The hajj flights are divided into two phases, the first phase would fly on September 10-October 9, 2013, while second phase will fly on October 20-November 19, 2013. The first batch from Palembang embarkation will fly on September 18, Banjarmasin embarkation on September 19 and Banda Aceh embarkation on September 29.
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