Jakarta (ANTARA) - The president director of state-owned airline Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, on Monday offered his apologies to pilgrims affected by recent Hajj flight delays.
"We apologize for the inconvenience to prospective Hajj pilgrims in several departure groups who experienced flight delays and also to the Hajj aviation authorities who worked optimally to ensure smooth Hajj services," he said in a statement issued by his office on Monday.
He informed that the airline is continuing to intensify mitigation measures to provide smooth Hajj flight services.
Setiaputra attributed the delays in Hajj flight departures to the implementation of fleet safety procedures.
He said that there were several crucial records of delays in flight departures of several groups from several embarkation points, one of which was due to several adjustments made to the flight schedule for departure groups from the Makassar embarkation.
"We apologize for not providing answers and responses regarding the circulating news because we were trying to minimize this prolonged polemic. We are more focused on ensuring the process of accelerating corrective actions runs smoothly," he added.
Currently, the airline is carrying out multi-layered inspections for fleet readiness and improving monitoring to ensure aircraft readiness.
Garuda Indonesia has also stationed reserve fleets at several Hajj embarkation points to ensure the smooth departure of pilgrims, Setiaputra added.
"As of last week (May 26, 2024), Garuda Indonesia has served 152 flying groups with the number of Hajj pilgrims reaching 57 thousand people," he disclosed.
He assured that the airline will continue to regularly monitor the operation of Hajj flights to minimize the potential for further delays.
"We are also optimizing our efforts through synergy with the relevant aviation authorities, especially in maintaining the level of safety and service, which is our main priority for all flights to run optimally," he stated.
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Translator: Muhammad Harianto, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
