Indonesian airport authorities urged to improve service for hajj pilgrims

October 27, 2009

Indonesian Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi urged authorities of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to improve service for hajj pilgrims, detikcom online news reported here on Tuesday.

"Make everything better in the future. Every hajj terminal and relaxing rooms for hajj pilgrims should be proper," he said on inspection of preparation at the Terminal 3 in handling hajj pilgrims.

According to the minister, the Terminal 3 should be better than neighboring countries.

"It should be better than small country like Singapore. We are not a poor country. We have money but it is not managed properly," he said.

The minister observed the transportation preparation for hajj pilgrims who will depart for Mecca.

The hajj pilgrims started to leave Indonesia last Friday. Of total 207,000 of hajj pilgrims, as many as 114,094 were carried by Garuda Indonesia aircraft, while the rest were carried by Saudi Arabian Airlines ones.