Garuda's apology<\/p>\n
In response to a complaint from reader Mrs. Juliana Lestari
\nTanie in this column (March 1), please accept our apology for the
\nincident which caused inconveniences to Mrs. Juliana and her
\ncolleagues. The complaint concerned Garuda Indonesia's services
\non flight GA-828 Jakarta-Singapore route, Jan. 14, 2001.<\/p>\n
We would also like to explain the chronology of the incident.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, Jan. 14, the DC-10 aircraft, flight number GA-828
\nof the Jakarta-Singapore route, failed to land at Singapore's
\nChangi Airport due to bad weather and a crack in its right
\nwindshield. The pilot decided to land at an alternative airport,
\nthe Hang Nadim Airport at Batam.<\/p>\n
The airplane landed at Hang Nadim at 5:15 p.m., local time.
\nFollowing examinations of the airplane by Garuda technicians at
\nthe airport and coordination with Garuda's flight operation
\ncontrol in Jakarta, it was decided that GA-828 could not operate
\n(Aircraft On Ground), and was declared grounded at Hang Nadim for
\nrepairs.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Juliana, therefore, was correct in saying that aircraft
\nof other companies managed to land at Changi, as the GA-828 was
\nunder repairs for the sake of safety. The damage was categorized
\nas a \"No Go\" item.<\/p>\n
The Garuda official at Hang Nadim immediately explained to
\npassengers that GA-828 could not fly and was under repair.<\/p>\n
Garuda officers explained that there was no other Garuda
\naircraft available to fly them to Singapore. The last Garuda
\nflight, GA-155 of the Jakarta-Batam route, had already returned
\nto Jakarta at 4:55 p.m.<\/p>\n
As a solution, the Garuda officers offered passengers two
\nalternatives:
\na) To stay the night at a hotel in Batam at Garuda's expense for
\ndeparture to Singapore by a Garuda flight the following morning,
\nMonday, Jan. 15; or
\nb) To proceed to Singapore by ferry, with the reminder that the
\nferry's departure schedule was tight: from Sekupang port at 7
\np.m. and from Batu Ampar port at 8 p.m. Both schedules were for
\nthe last ferry departures from Batam to Singapore.<\/p>\n
All GA-828 passengers chose to proceed by ferry, upon which
\nBatam's Garuda office conducted the necessary preparations. These
\nincluded the deployment of four buses for passengers, one for
\ntheir luggage, and one ambulance and a nurse for a sick passenger
\nseeking treatment in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Garuda officers also prepared food and beverages which,
\nhowever, fell short of passengers' expectations, as all
\nrestaurants at Hang Nadim were closed.<\/p>\n
Because all passengers of the flight were proceeding to
\nSingapore by ferry, Batam immigration officials needed to recheck
\ntheir travel documents, which indeed took time given the total of
\n154 passengers.<\/p>\n
Passengers then left for Singapore. Twenty-six, including the
\nsick passenger, departed on Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. from Sekupang port,
\none hour later than scheduled; 138 passengers left at 10:30 p.m.
\nfrom Batu Ampar port, or two-and-a-half hours after the scheduled
\ndeparture time.<\/p>\n
The trip by ferry was accompanied by Garuda officials and all
\nfees were paid by Garuda. On arrival at the World Trade Center,
\nSingapore's ferry port, staff of the Garuda Representative Office
\nin Singapore assisted passengers in proceeding to their
\ndestinations in Singapore, including the sick passenger who was
\ntransported to the Glenn Eagles hospital by ambulance.<\/p>\n
Once again, we would like to extend our apologies for any
\nshortcomings of Garuda's service, including in the arrangement of
\nthe ferry trip.<\/p>\n
PUJOBROTO<\/p>\n
PT Garuda Indonesia<\/p>\n
Chief of Public Relations<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/garudas-apology-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }