Garuda Indonesia Cancels Flight Due to Lack of Pilots
In this article (4)
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia canceled a flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sunday due to a lack of available pilots. The plane was scheduled to depart at 10 p.m. Singapore time.
Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said the pilots who were meant to fly that evening had flown for nine hours on Sunday – the maximum number of hours a pilot is permitted to fly in one day.
“The pilots should fly for a maximum of nine hours a day after having flown five times but, due to delays, the pilots had reached the flying limit,” Ikhsan told on Sunday night, adding that the pilots were not immediately replaced as all available ones were in Jakarta.
As a result, hundreds of passengers were forced to reschedule their flights on Monday as all Sunday flights were fully booked.
One of the passengers, Rudy Bani, 39, said he was frustrated with the airlines because he had a meeting on Monday afternoon.
“I am a frequent flyer of Garuda and this kind of thing had never happened before. This is the worst,” Rudy said.
Passengers trying to book morning and afternoon flights on Monday reportedly had a difficult time finding available seats.
Questions & Answers
Q.Why were the pilots unable to fly the scheduled flight from Singapore to Jakarta?
Why were the pilots unable to fly the scheduled flight from Singapore to Jakarta?
The pilots had already flown for nine hours on Sunday, which is the maximum permitted flying time for a pilot in one day. Delays earlier in the day meant they reached this limit before the scheduled departure.
Q.What happened to the passengers whose flight was cancelled?
What happened to the passengers whose flight was cancelled?
Hundreds of passengers were forced to reschedule their flights for Monday. All Sunday flights were fully booked, and many found it difficult to find available seats on morning and afternoon flights the next day.
Q.Why couldn't replacement pilots be found for the cancelled flight?
Why couldn't replacement pilots be found for the cancelled flight?
According to the Garuda spokesman, all available pilots were located in Jakarta at the time of the cancellation. This meant no immediate replacements could be found in Singapore for the evening flight.
Reader pulse
What does this pilot shortage indicate for the travel sector?
16,178 votes so far