Many pilgrims arrive home without luggage<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Many haj pilgrims returned home from Saudi
\nArabia yesterday only to learn that their luggage was missing.<\/p>\n
Similar incidents also marred the return of the first
\nIndonesian pilgrims at Halim Perdana Kusumah airport and five
\nother airports in the country on April 23.<\/p>\n
In many cases, the planes carried luggage belonging to
\npilgrims from other flights.<\/p>\n
This was the case with at least 25 of the 53 flights bringing
\nhome pilgrims yesterday, according to data from the committee to
\noversee the returning pilgrims.<\/p>\n
Some of the luggage taken to the Pondok Gede haj dormitory in
\nEast Jakarta belonged to pilgrims bound for Ujungpandang and
\nSurabaya, a committee official said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's 200,000 pilgrims are divided into 470 flights of
\nup to 500 passengers. Besides Jakarta, pilgrims are also flown to
\nSurakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Balikpapan and Ujungpandang.<\/p>\n
The last pilgrims are scheduled to arrive on May 19.<\/p>\n
For many pilgrims, the confusion about the whereabouts of
\ntheir luggage came on top of long delays they had to endure
\nwaiting for their flight home.<\/p>\n
Officials blamed the chaos on the new city check-in facility
\nfor pilgrims in Jeddah. Under the new system, intended to
\nfacilitate their return, luggage is collected and checked-in at
\ntheir accommodation, sparing pilgrims the need to carry it
\nthemselves to the airport.<\/p>\n
Arif Bahtiar, an official of the committee overseeing
\npilgrims' return, blamed Garuda Indonesia for the chaos. \"Garuda
\nhas not given any official explanation on what caused it,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
But Garuda, the sole carrier for the haj pilgrimage, said
\npilgrims must share the blame because many of them were carrying
\nluggage exceeding the 30 kilogram limit.<\/p>\n
Arif Hartanto, Garuda vice president for business relations,
\nsaid airline staff at Jeddah's King Abdul Azis airport were
\nforced to seize excess cabin luggage for safety reasons.<\/p>\n
\"Safety is our first priority,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, about 1,200 bags and bottles containing zam-zam
\nwater (collected from wells near the Kabah) remained uncollected
\nat Building III of the haj dormitory.<\/p>\n
An official in charge of the unclaimed luggage said 1,200
\npeople had already claimed their bags.<\/p>\n
Muhtar, a resident from Serang, said he had been to the haj
\ndormitory three times to look for the luggage of his parents, who
\narrived Thursday. He had collected two of their three suitcases.<\/p>\n
Many pilgrims entrust someone else to find their luggage, like
\nDahlan, who acted on behalf of 19 pilgrims who arrived Monday.
\nDahlan said he was yet to find three more suitcases, and planned
\nto return the next day.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, 47 more Indonesian pilgrims have died, bringing the
\ndeath toll to 606 people yesterday, the Ministry of Religious
\nAffairs said.<\/p>\n
The figure exceeds last year's record 570 people. The two main
\ncauses of deaths are heart and lung disease, officials said. (11)<\/p>",
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