Anyone who’s been following news in Indonesia should be familiar with the scandals surrounding the country’s flag carrier Garuda Indonesia lately.
The latest in a string of problems that seem to plague the state-owned company was brought to light by a passenger claiming she and her family were “detained” following employee accusations that her husband had insulted the airline, prompting an apology from Garuda’s acting president director Fuad Rizal.
On Sunday, the passenger took to Twitter to share her experience on a Garuda flight to Denpasar on Jan. 4. Her family, which included her husband and three young children, were flying business class.
The passenger explained that their flight was held back for almost an hour while waiting for the runway to clear at Ngurah Rai International Airport, at which point her eldest child asked to go to the restroom. However, the flight attendant informed her husband that it was not allowed for safety reasons and he returned to his seat.
Her son then began to complain of a stomach ache, which she said led her husband to panic and begin to grumble about Garuda to her. Their unpleasant experience might have ended after the plane finally landed, but the passenger claimed she was stopped from leaving the airport’s baggage lounge at the request of the flight’s captain.
The captain told Aviation Security (Avsec) officers to detain the family, allegedly because the husband had insulted the airline. During the exchange, the passenger made reference to members of Garuda’s board of commissioners, who she claimed to know and would call about the incident.
The captain then walked away and the passenger and her family were met with apologies from the ground crew, who issued a statement acknowledging that the incident was a case of “normal frustration.”
After the passenger’s Twitter thread had gone viral, Garuda Indonesia issued an apology yesterday.
“At this time, Garuda Indonesia is investigating the pilot involved to find out whether or not he has acted beyond his authority while on duty or according to procedure,” Fuad said in a statement received by Coconuts.
“We are in touch with the passenger in our effort to resolve the matter as best as possible.”
