Prabowo Wants Garuda (GIAA) and Saudi Air to Form a Joint Venture – Why?

President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, has requested that Garuda Indonesia (GIAA) and Danantara Indonesia approach Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier airline, Saudi Air, to establish a joint venture (JV). “I have instructed (Garuda and Danantara) to approach Saudi Air so that Garuda and Saudi Air can create a JV. All this time, Garuda planes have been carrying hajj pilgrims to the holy land and returning empty – this is not economical, it doesn’t make sense,” said Prabowo during the Presidential Briefing at the Working Meeting of the Government Members of the Merah Putih Cabinet at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (8/4/2026). In line with Garuda’s experience, Prabowo also revealed that the Saudi Arabian airline faces the same issue, with flights returning empty after delivering hajj pilgrims to Indonesia. “I said, why not collaborate to create a 50:50 subsidiary? Our planes fly to Arabia full, return to Indonesia full – prices can drop again, times can be shorter – this needs to be implemented,” explained Prabowo. Prabowo claimed he has proposed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and received principal approval for Indonesia to have a dedicated hajj terminal. This dedicated hajj terminal is expected to serve as the entry point for the joint venture company between Garuda and Saudi Air. “So that terminal is exclusively for hajj, so we can enter more quickly,” explained Prabowo.