The delay experienced by the pilgrims of batch 9 from Balikpapan Embarkation even lasted for 28 hours. Previously, the pilgrims of batch 3 from Kualanamu Embarkation also experienced a 12-hour delay. "We strongly protest against Garuda Indonesia for the recurring delays of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims during the repatriation phase. Delay after delay. It keeps happening repeatedly. We consider Garuda Indonesia's performance this year to be very poor and unprofessional," said Hilman Latief in his statement on Tuesday, July 9, 2024.

As many as 324 BPN-09 pilgrims originated from Palu, Central Sulawesi, were supposed to return to their homeland on July 6, 2024, at 13:40 Saudi Arabian time. They were already on the bus and ready to go to Amir Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Airport (AMAA) in Madinah when they were informed about the flight delay and will only be flown on Sunday, July 7, 2024, at around 17:40 Saudi Arabian time.

"Notification from Garuda Indonesia is often sudden. Even the pilgrims are already on the bus and ready to go to AMAA Madinah Airport when they are informed about the delay. This incident is similar to KNO-03. Clearly, Garuda Indonesia is not professional," said Hilman. "Delays like this make the pilgrims tired. They are forced to bring their cabin luggage back because they were informed about the delay only after they were already on the bus. This is exhausting," he added.

Protests in unison were conveyed by the Director of Domestic Hajj Services, Saiful Mujab. According to him, Garuda's performance in organizing this year's hajj pilgrimage was truly very poor. "In the second week of repatriation, a total of 155 Indonesian hajj groups have already been flown back to the homeland by Garuda Indonesia. Out of the 155 groups, 75 groups experienced delays, which is 48.39 percent," said Saiful.

"Kalau pekan pertama ada KNO 03 yang delay 12 jam 30 menit, pekan kedua ini ada BPN 09 yang delay hingga 28 jam 10 menit. Ini sangat parah, Saiful minta Garuda Indonesia fokus pada upaya perbaikan kinerja pada sisa penerbangan pemulangan jemaah haji." "If in the first week there was KNO 03 with a delay of 12 hours and 30 minutes, in the second week there is BPN 09 with a delay of up to 28 hours and 10 minutes. This is very serious, Saiful asks Garuda Indonesia to focus on improving the performance of the remaining flights for the return of Hajj pilgrims."

"Make sure the aircraft to be used is ready and available. The aircraft crew is also ready for duty, so that the potential for flight delays or delays does not recur," he said. He said that Garuda should prepare a replacement aircraft for problematic aircraft, according to the working contract with the Ministry of Religious Affairs."