Govt vows smooth haj operation<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government scrambled yesterday to assure haj
\npilgrims that this year's operation would proceed smoothly,
\ndespite the glitches of the past few days.<\/p>\n
Director General of Air Transportation Zainuddin Sikado
\npromised yesterday to arrange extra flights to transport all
\n194,707 haj pilgrims, while Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi
\nTaher promised that all pilgrims would receive their visas by
\nnext week.<\/p>\n
Problems with documentation and visas have thrown off flight
\nschedules. Those who were supposed to leave early were left
\nstranded on the ground, while pilgrims on later flights -- but
\nwith proper documents -- were made to go on short notice.<\/p>\n
Other flights were canceled.<\/p>\n
Sikado said he will fly to Jeddah on April 8 to negotiate with
\nofficials there the possibility of sending extra flights from
\nIndonesia. As of Monday, of all the flights to Saudi Arabia,
\n1,358 seats were left vacant, he added.<\/p>\n
Sources have told The Jakarta Post that the number of empty
\nseats was actually higher.<\/p>\n
With regards to documentation, Tarmizi Taher said the Saudi
\nArabian embassy has issued 135,000 visas and will issue 25,000
\nmore tomorrow. The embassy will issue the remaining 35,000 visas
\nby next week, he said.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi said the embassy had planned to have all the visas
\nprocessed before the Ramadhan fasting month in January, but
\nfailed to do so because it was then overwhelmed by the visa
\napplications for 50,000 Indonesians going on umrah, the minor
\npilgrimage.<\/p>\n
The minister denied that this year's operation has already
\nbecome chaotic. \"There are problems, but the ministry can handle
\nit,\" he told reporters. \"Remember, sending out 195,000 people is
\nnot a minor operation. It's impossible not to make a single
\nmistake.\"<\/p>\n
He said the Saudi Arabian embassy has temporarily hired 50
\npeople, including 30 Indonesians, to help expedite the visa
\nprocess.<\/p>\n
Garuda<\/p>\n
The operation of flying out haj pilgrims started on Saturday
\nand will last until April 26. The operation to bring the pilgrims
\nhome will run from May 2 to May 30.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know yet how many extra flights will be prepared.
\nLast year, there were 20 extra flight services to transport some
\n6,000 pilgrims whose departures were delayed,\" Sikado said.<\/p>\n
The extra flights to Saudi Arabia this year must be completed
\nbefore midnight on April 26, when the King Abdul Aziz airport in
\nJeddah will close temporarily.<\/p>\n
According to official data, there were 1,067 open seats during
\nthe 1994 haj pilgrimage season which was joined by 192,000
\nMoslems.<\/p>\n
For this year's haj season, the country's flag carrier Garuda
\nIndonesia has arranged 23 jets and 453 flights to serve the
\npilgrims.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, more problems were reported yesterday in the five
\nhaj embarkation points of Ujungpandang, Surabaya, Medan,
\nBalikpapan and Jakarta.<\/p>\n
In Ujungpandang, for instance, a total of 172 pilgrims failed
\nto leave as scheduled on Saturday. As of yesterday, they were
\nstill waiting for their visas, Antara reported.<\/p>\n
In Balikpapan, some 400 pilgrims failed to go as scheduled
\nyesterday, also because they lacked visas.<\/p>\n
Officials at the five haj embarkation points tried to cope by
\nrearranging the scheduled flights, though not always
\nsuccessfully.<\/p>\n
\"This year's operation is worse than last year's,\" said Asli
\nAmin, a local haj operation official.<\/p>\n
He cited as an example the sixth flight scheduled for
\nyesterday morning, which failed to take off because only 60
\npercent of the scheduled passengers had visas.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Transportation has stipulated that all Garuda
\naircraft on haj flights must have at least 70 percent of their
\nseats filled before departing. (icn\/31\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-vows-smooth-haj-operation-1447893297",
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