Flight delays continue to beset haj operation

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)