JAKARTA - Angkasa Pura Airports have managed to dispatch 10,810 Hajj pilgrims through 26 Flight Groups (Hajj group) in 2019 Hajj Transportation for the period July 6 to July 9, 2019. This year, Angkasa Pura I prepares six airports for Hajj embarkations, namely Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar, Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman (SAMS) Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan, Adi Soemarmo Internationa Airport in Solo, Lombok International Airport in Lombok, and Syamsudin Noor International Airport in Banjarmasin.
"From July 6 to July 9, our six airports which became the embarkation of Hajj have served 10,810 pilgrims through 26 Hajj groups. Juanda International Airport in Surabaya was recorded to send the most prospective pilgrims of 4,469 people divided into 10 Hajj groups followed by Adi Soemarmo International Airport in Solo of 2,867 pilgrims from eight Hajj groups," said Angkasa Pura Airports president director Faik Fahmi.
Meanwhile, Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport dispatched 1,812 pilgrims divided into four Hajj groups, Lombok International Airport dispatched 1,344 pilgrims from three groups and Syamsudin Noor International Airport sent 318 pilgrims from one Hajj group. The new SAMS Sepinggan Balikpapan airport will dispatch prospective pilgrims on July 18 to August 5, 2019. This year, the Hajj quota for Indonesia is 231,000 pilgrims after obtaining an additional 10,000 quota from the Government of Saudi Arabia. Previously, Indonesia only received a quota for 221,000 pilgrims.
The departure is going to be divided into two phases: The first departure will be on July 7-19, 2019 and the second departure will be on July 20 to August 5, 2019.
The total number of Hajj groups served by six Angkasa Pura I airports are 262. The details of each Hajj groups at each airport are 85 groups at Juanda International Airport, 40 groups at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, 15 groups at SAMS Sepinggan International Airport, 11 groups at Lombok International Airport, 19 groups at the Syamsudin Noor International Airport, and 97 groups at Adi Soemarmo International Airport.
As for July 9, there were 65 pilgrims canceled their pilgrimage. Most of the pilgrims scheduled to depart from Juanda International Airport. As many as 31 pilgrims canceled their trip due to several factors such as illness, missing vaccines, empty manifests, pregnancy, death, and personal reason.
"Overall, until the fourth day the implementation of 2019 Hajj Transportation at the airport that we manage runs smoothly. We will continue to coordinate with relevant stakeholders and maintain the quality of our services and operations to ensure a smooth journey for Hajj pilgrims to the Holy Land," Faik added. [DR]
