Jakarta –
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) made a working visit to Washington, DC, United States of America, using a Garuda Indonesia aircraft. One of the considerations for using the Garuda Indonesia aircraft is because the distance is very far.
“The journey is very long if using the presidential plane, it can make 2 transits. The presidential plane can only fit 48 people, the team has 62 people. And the distance is very long,” said Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Heru Budi Hartono, to reporters, Tuesday (10/5/2022). ).
Besides, Heru said, there is a team advance who will come together back to the country. According to Heru, it is more efficient.
“And all the ministers who participate can get one PP plane. And the team advance will come back with the plane so it is more efficient,” said Heru.
Jokowi Uses Garuda to Italy
Previously, Garuda Indonesia aircraft had also been used Jokowi during a visit to three countries, namely Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. The reasons are the same, starting from considerations of time efficiency, budget savings, to health protocols.
“By using this wide-bodied aircraft, this 13-hour trip to Rome can be done directly without the need for transit. If we use the BBJ Presidential Airplane, we have to transit. And remember, this is the President’s first working visit abroad during a pandemic, We must be very careful in carrying out health protocols, including face-to-face meetings during transit,” said Heru before departing for Rome at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, Banten, through a written statement, Friday (10/29/2021).
Heru says, when Jokowi and the group must transit, preparations for the implementation of health protocols must be carried out properly, such as sterilization of the waiting room, PCR tests for waiters at transit points, as well as food and drinks served must be ensured to be carried out with strict health protocols.
Another thing that Heru considers is budget efficiency. Because all ministers who were present during the visit were part of Jokowi’s entourage on this plane.
“Of course, the use of the budget is also our concern. After we calculated it was much more economical to have ministers in this group, compared to these ministers using commercial aircraft. There were a total of six ministers who took part in this plane, Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, Minister of BUMN, and Cabinet Secretary,” said Heru.
Heru continued, not all ministers have joined since in Jakarta. Because, there is a meeting that must be followed before joining Jokowi’s entourage.
“Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs for example, he must first go to Rome, because there is a ministerial level meeting and also preparing for the arrival of the President. But after that, from Rome to Glasgow, then Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the Foreign Minister will continue to join,” said Heru.
Another saving is that, continued Heru, the group who joined the advance team to Abu Dhabi and Dubai will join the plane when they return to the country.
“All the officers who served as the lead team in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will come with us on their return to the country. So they do not buy commercial plane tickets to return to the country,” said Heru.
Watch the video ‘Jokowi Flew to the US to Join the ASEAN-US International Summit’:
(knv / imk)
–
