First batches of haj pilgrims leave for Saudi

First batches of haj pilgrims leave for Saudi

JAKARTA (JP): The month-long dispatch of some 205,000
Indonesian haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia got off to a nearly
flawless start on Friday.

Some 450 pilgrims, many of them elderly and in wheelchairs,
left aboard a government-chartered flight from Soekarno-Hatta
Airport. They were among the first batches of haj pilgrims to
leave for Saudi Arabia from six airports on board Garuda
Indonesia and Saudi Airlines aircraft.

A minor glitch occurred in Medan, North Sumatra, on Friday
when the departure of a government-chartered flight carrying some
405 pilgrims was delayed for four hours due to technical
problems.

Antara reported that Garuda then sent a Boeing-737 from
Jakarta to replace a chartered MD-11 plane, which was later
temporarily grounded.

The government has designated seven airports as embarkation
points: Surakarta's Adisumarmo, Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta,
Surabaya's Juanda, Makassar's Hasanuddin, Medan's Polonia,
Balikpapan's Sepinggan and Banda Aceh's Sultan Iskandar Muda.

This year was the second time that the government appointed
Banda Aceh's airport as a haj departure point. A total of 6,337
people have registered to fly out of the restive province for the
pilgrimage, with the first flight leaving on Friday.

Minister of Health Ahmad Suyudi and Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso
sent off the first pilgrims from Jakarta on board a Saudi
Airlines plane.

Officials have said the cooperation with the Saudi flag
carrier to fly Indonesian pilgrims, now in its third year, would
likely be retained next year.

Before 1999, Garuda Indonesia held a lucrative monopoly to
transport Indonesian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

The government organizes haj pilgrimage for its citizens,
providing all-inclusive packages costing Rp 17.7 million (US$
1,800) per head. (07)