Garuda to Carry 90,933, Lion Air 11,791 Pilgrims for 2025 Hajj
Jakarta. National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia and budget airline Lion Air will transport a combined 102,724 Indonesian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2025 Hajj season, with Garuda flying 90,933 and Lion Air handling 11,791 pilgrims.
Garuda Indonesia is deploying 14 aircraft to serve pilgrims from seven embarkation points: Banda Aceh, Medan, Jakarta, Solo, Balikpapan, Makassar, and Lombok. The airline’s CEO, Wamildan Tsani Panjaitan, confirmed the preparations during a meeting with House Commission VIII in Jakarta on April 17.
“With a total of 90,933 pilgrims, Garuda will serve seven embarkations across Indonesia,” Wamildan said.
Meanwhile, Lion Air has been appointed to carry Hajj pilgrims from two embarkation points, Padang and Banjarmasin. The airline is assigning five Airbus A330 aircraft, including A330 CEO variants, for the mission.
“We’ve been assigned Padang with 6,309 pilgrims and Banjarmasin with 5,482 pilgrims,” said Lion Air CEO Rachmat Diansyah during a press briefing at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Saturday.
Each Lion Air flight group will carry 424 passengers, comprising 420 pilgrims and four accompanying officers. The first batch from Padang is scheduled to depart on May 3, followed by Banjarmasin on May 5.
“This is our first year transporting Indonesian pilgrims, although we have years of experience flying Hajj groups from West Asia and the Middle East,” Rachmat added.
In addition to Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air, the Indonesian government has appointed Saudia (Saudi Arabian Airlines) as an official carrier for the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage. Saudia is expected to transport up to 102,000 Indonesian pilgrims, the largest number among the three designated airlines.
Indonesia is sending around 221,000 pilgrims to this year’s Hajj, making it the largest contingent globally.
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