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ational flag carrier Garuda Indonesia will operate 14 wide-bodied aircraft to fly Indonesian pilgrims to perform the haj in Mecca beginning next month, the airline’s spokesman said.

Ikhsan Rosan, Garuda’s public relations manager, said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the 14 aircraft, which would comprise Boeing 747, Boeing 767, Airbus A330-300, and A330-200 jets, would be chartered from Europe and the US.

“The airplanes to send the pilgrims are relatively new, as requested by the Religious Affairs Ministry. There is even a plane that was built in 2009,” he told The Jakarta Post.

According to the ministry, the number of Indonesian pilgrims allowed by the Saudi Arabian government in this year’s haj season totals 211,000 people. 194,000 will use a regular haj service organized by the ministry and the other 17,000 will use a “premium” haj service handled by travel companies.

The pilgrims using the regular haj service will be flown by Garuda and Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Ikhksan said Garuda would fly 108,135 pilgrims to be divided into 287 batches departing from nine different airports.

He said the departure would begin from Oct. 2 to 31, while the return flights would be carried out between Nov. 11 to Dec. 11. The airline has also hired 687 cabin crew from 33 provinces to ease the issue of language, he added.

“614 of 687 crew members are [from different provinces] because we do not want to encounter communication problems, given that many of the pilgrims only speak their local languages,” he said, adding that they had some 2,500 inhouse cabin crew.

He said Garuda was also providing local food to the pilgrims’ liking and giving them Zamzam water when they arrived in order to step up their level of customer service.

Religious Affairs Ministry director for the haj and umrah Zainal Abidin said Indonesia was unlikely to encounter problems in sending pilgrims to Mecca this year because both airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Saudi Arabian Airlines, had shown their readiness.

“Garuda Indonesia and Saudi Airlines are ready to send 211,000 pilgrims this year for 30 days,” Zainal Abidin said.

He said those who had opted for the premium haj service or the ONH Plus package, costing US$4,000 to $6,000 per person, would be flown by other airlines. The regular package would cost $3,469.

Under the 2008 Haj Law, it is the Religious Affairs Ministry’s right to choose the airline for pilgrim transportation.

However, since last year, the ministry offered private airlines to take in the pilgrim transportation through a competitive tender.

Lion Air and Batavia Air proposed to participate in the service. However, both of them did not fulfil the government’s requirements, he said. (nof)