Flight delays continue to beset haj operation

JAKARTA (JP): The government's operation to bring home Indonesian haj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia continued to suffer delays yesterday, with most flights arriving way behind schedule.

But the delays were shorter than the up-to-19-hour delays of the first flights bringing home pilgrims Wednesday and Thursday.

Of the seven wide-bodied planes flying into the Halim Perdanakusuma airport from Jeddah yesterday, one arrived on time but six were between two and three hours late.

Ahmad Sukarya, the Ministry of Religious Affairs' inspector general, has been sent to Jeddah to investigate the delays.

He concluded that the abundant traffic at the King Abdul Azis airport and the breakdown of some aircraft leased for the operation had caused the delays, according to an official of the committee overseeing the pilgrims' return.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanurtirto has publicly apologized for the delays which he said were beyond his control.

More than two million people from all over the world went on this year's haj pilgrimage. Indonesia's 200,000 pilgrims were the biggest haj contingent.

The Saudi authorities have allocated two gates at King Abdul Azis airport for Indonesian pilgrims, but this appeared insufficient, officials said.

The officials hope the delays will ease by Wednesday when most pilgrims from other countries will have left Saudi Arabia. They hope Indonesia will be given more gates at the airport.

Meanwhile, Jakarta's new check-in, set up especially for local pilgrims, has turned out to be a farce with many people complaining of lost luggage.

Many pilgrims have returned home without their luggage. They have been returning to the Pondok Gede haj dormitory in East Jakarta every day to enquire about the fate of their belongings.

Asmawati, a committee official, said that in many cases luggage had been switched and would eventually be returned.

Asmawati blamed the luggage mixup on cargo handling agencies in Jeddah.

Garuda Indonesia, which is flying the Indonesian pilgrims, has contracted its luggage handling to Al Munief and Al Amr, both Indonesian-Saudi Arabian joint venture companies.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs said yesterday that 463 Indonesians had died on this year's pilgrimage. Last year, 570 of the 200,000 Indonesian pilgrims died. (11)