Ika Krismantari The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The demand for seats on planes and trains heading for Surakarta from Jakarta peaked unexpectedly Sunday night as hundreds of mourners flocked to attend the funeral of former president Soeharto.
Soeharto, who died Sunday midday, is expected to be brought to Astana Giri Bangun Cemetery in Surakarta, Central Java, on Monday morning, to be buried beside his wife, Tien Soeharto, who died in 1996.
"Our morning flight for tomorrow has been chartered by someone wishing to bring mourners to Surakarta," Garuda Indonesia spokesperson Pujobroto told The Jakarta Post, refusing to identify the person.
Pujo said the state-owned airline had scheduled an extra Surakarta flight for 9 p.m. Sunday and would consider scheduling yet another at 10 p.m. Sunday, because its regular flights were full.
Normally Garuda flies to Surakarta, more popularly called Solo, twice daily, with once flight in the morning and another in the afternoon.
Unlike Garuda, budget airline Adam Air was planning to use a larger aircraft on its Surakarta route instead of adding flights.
"We usually use a Boeing 737-300, which can carry up to 148 passengers, but tomorrow we will use a Boeing 737-400, which can take 170," CEO Adam Suherman told the Post adding that all flights to Surakarta and Yogyakarta were full.
Meanwhile, travel agent Vayatour said all Garuda and Merpati flights for early Monday morning to Surakarta, Yogyakarta and Semarang, in Central Java, were fully booked.
"People started to buy the tickets right after they heard the news that Soeharto had died," said the agent's representative, Robert.
He confirmed there were still available flights to Surakarta but only after 10:00 a.m., which would be too late for those hoping to attend the funeral.
Sriwijaya Air will depart at 10:30 a.m. and still has seats, he said. Meanwhile, Lion Air, which only flies once a day to Surakarta, will depart at 3:30 p.m.
In accordance with Islamic beliefs, burial is to be completed within 24 hours of death, which would be 12 p.m. on Monday.
To arrive on time, some mourners will travel by train to Surakarta, eight to ten hours away.
State-owned train company PT KAI said although there was an increase in the average number of passengers departing for Surakarta on Sunday, the regular night train for that route could meet the demand.
Meanwhile, KAI spokesperson Akhmad Sujadi said the company was preparing to deploy a special train to carry Jakarta passengers to Surakarta, should it be necessary.
"A train with eight executive cars, which are stationed at the Manggarai station, is ready for departure tonight. If that is not enough, we will deploy the special train." (adt)
No comments:
Post a Comment