Hajj plane makes emergency landing at Hasanuddin Airport

MAKASSAR, South Sulawesi (Antara): An airplane chartered by Garuda Indonesia airlines to carry haj pilgrims from South Sulawesi province made an emergency landing at Hasanuddin Airport on Tuesday due to technical problems, an airport official said onTuesday.

A spokesman from Hasanuddin airport operator PT Angkasa Pura, Syamsuddin Hoteng, said the aircraft made a smooth landing at noon local time (11 a.m. Jakarta time), 30 minutes after taking off from the same airport after the pilot noticed a warning lighton his cockpit instrument panel came on.

"However, we do not know what kind of problems forced the plane to return.

"The emergency landing was normal and there was no problem with the haj pilgrims on board," Syamsuddin said.

He said the British Airways Boeing B-767-300 chartered by Garuda was carrying 325 pilgrims from Wajo regency, South Sulawesi, when it was forced to return to Hasanuddin Airport.

When contacted by telephone from here, general manager of Garuda's Makassar office Iskandar Barso, who is in Jakarta, said he has been informed of the incident but was unable to provide any more details about it.