Haj planes refuel at Hang Nadim

Haj planes refuel at Hang Nadim

JAKARTA (JP): The government has shifted the refueling base of
several flights carrying haj pilgrims from Singapore's Changi
airport to Batam's Hang Nadim airport, saying that the change can
save up to US$2 million in operational costs.

Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher said 113 flights
carrying haj pilgrims from the embarkation points of Sepinggan
airport in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, and Hasanuddin airport in
Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, have been rerouted this year to
refuel at Batam.

"After making comparisons, we concluded it was cheaper by 2
U.S. cents per liter to stop over at Batam. It was also more
time-saving," he said as quoted by Antara.

The station manager of state-owned PT Garuda Indonesia in
Batam, Musaha, said that for every Boeing-747 aircraft, 95
kiloliters of fuel are needed.

Since the haj pilgrims started being flown to Mecca last week,
14 flights so far have stopped to refuel at Hang Nadim, Musaha
said.

He explained that the short runways (less than 2,500 meters)
at Sepinggan and Hasanuddin do not allow fully-loaded aircraft to
take off with their fuel tanks filled to maximum capacity. Thus
they have to be refilled after flying for about two hours.

Tarmizi said that before choosing Hang Nadim to replace Changi
as a refueling base, the government conducted try-outs at Medan's
Polonia airport in North Sumatra. However, the results proved
less favorable.

Hang Nadim airport, whose expansion was officially inaugurated
by President Soeharto last December, can accommodate 40 flights a
day. With a runway of 4,025 meters, the airport is currently also
preparing to allow foreign carriers, such as Lufthansa, KLM and
Eva Air, to land planes.

Garuda Indonesia, the country's flag carrier, has allocated 23
aircraft and a total of 453 flights to carry 195,000 haj pilgrims
headed to Mecca this year. (pwn)