SOME 39,500 RI HAJJ PILGRIMS NOW BACK HOME

Jeddah, Dec 8 (ANTARA) - At least 39.500 or about 20.5 percent of the 192,000 Indonesians who flew to Saudi Arabia for the hajj pilgrimage this year have now returned home, Antara learned here Tuesday.

So far, a total of 97 flight groups or locally called "Kloter" had left Jedda's King Abdul Aziz airport for 11 debarkation airports in Indonesia. Sixty of the hajj groups returned home by Garuda Indonesia aircraft and 37 by Saudi Arabian Airlines.

In addition to the regular programs of the hajj pilgrimage departure through the so-called "Hajj Pilgrimage Implementation Costs (BPIH or formerly named ONH), some other 17,000 hajj pilgrims also departed to the Holy Land under the coordination of the private travel agencies.

The delay from the original schedule could not be avoided in almost all flights due to the flights density at Jeddah airport in the first week of the pilgrims' home bound flow.
Such delay happened as a result of congestion both in the aircraft parking area and the passenger entrance into the administration room (passport, ticket checking) and passenger goods(check-in area).

The Indonesia Hajj (PPIH) Organizing Committee had even lost track of 450 pilgrims who belonged to flight group 05 from Batam who experienced delays from their original departure schedule on Sunday (Dec 6).

The total number of Indonesians who have gone on the Hajj pilgrimage this year was 192,000. They were flown from 11 embarkation airports in the country in 475 groups since October 23.