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First batch of S. Sulawesi haj pilgrims set off after 7-hour delay
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All ready – Hundreds of haj pilgrims from Makassar and Soppeng, both in South Sulawesi, enter an Airbus plane bound for Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday afternoon. The departure was delayed for seven hours as a result of technical problems. (Courtesy of Angkasa Pura/-)
T
he first batch of haj pilgrims from the haj embarkation point at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi, departed on Tuesday afternoon after a seven-hour delay due to technical faults.
“The flight took off at around 5:17 p.m. local time,” said Dian Ediono, the manager of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia’s branch office in Makassar.
Dian said the flight’s departure was delayed as a result of the detection of a number of technical problems relating to the aeroplane's flight navigation system and emergency exit.
The plane, which was carrying 450 haj pilgrims, was initially scheduled to take off at 9:40 a.m. before the airline decided to delay its departure. The haj pilgrims were then brought back to their haj dormitory to rest while waiting for their plane to be repaired.
South Sulawesi Religious Affairs Agency head Abdul Wahid Tahir said the technical glitches were detected only after haj pilgrims and officials were all on board.
“There had been no notification from Garuda. That’s why we took the haj pilgrims to the airport, in line with our schedule. It was only after they had entered the aircraft that the airline management told us that the plane had some technical problems and that the departure would therefore be delayed,” said Wahid.
According to Wahid, Garuda’s management officials claimed they had checked the Airbus aircraft’s airworthiness from Monday evening to Tuesday morning. “They said the plane was in flyworthy condition and had no problems. But when it was about to take off, they found its flight navigation was not functioning properly,” said Wahid.
According to the South Sulawesi Religious Affairs Agency, 11,963 haj pilgrims are set to depart from the Makassar haj embarkation point. They are from eight provinces, namely Gorontalo, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua, South Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, West Papua and West Sulawesi.
The province with the highest number of haj pilgrims is South Sulawesi, which is sending 5,791 people. The pilgrims who departed in the first batch on Tuesday afternoon were from Makassar and Soppeng, both in the province. (ebf)
