Garuda opens Surabaya-Madinah flight route

Garuda Indonesia opened the Surabaya-Madina flight route on Tuesday as part of its efforts to expand its flight network in the Middle East.

The national flag carrier will serve the flight route on Tuesdays using an Airbus A330-300 with a seating capacity of 360, all of them economic class, Garuda Cargo Director Sigit Muhartono said in a written statement released on Tuesday.

“As the flag carrier of the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, Garuda Indonesia will always try to facilitate Muslims wishing to perform religious services in the Holy Land. With the new flight route inaugurated today, we hope the people of East Java and surrounding areas will find it easy and comfortable to travel to the Saudi main cities of Jeddah and Madinah by direct flight,” he added.

The Surabaya-Madinah flight route will accommodate not only people who want to travel to the Holy Land for umroh (minor hajj) but also businessmen, tourists and migrant Indonesian workers.

“With the Surabaya-Madina flight route, Garuda Indonesia offers umroh pilgrims an alternative flight route that enables them to opt to depart from Surabaya to Madina and return to Surabaya from Jeddah,” he explained.