A compulsory religious duty for every devout Muslim is to be able to fulfill the fifth pillar of Islam as mandated by the Prophet Muhammad and participate in the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
Adi Soemarmo International Airport (SOC) in Surakarta, Central Java, has annually been appointed to become the station for embarkation and disembarkation of Hajj pilgrims. With 33.360 pilgrims and 176 flights, served by five A330-300s, this airport definitely served the largest number of pilgrims this year.
This is the main reason I was posted to SOC from my home airport of Ngurah Rai, Bali. I worked as part of the established team at SOC to help manage and coordinate disembarkation process. I was also instructed by my manager Mrs. Rini to help capture the whole process of disembarkation in photographs. It is with her kind permission that I am able to share some of the pictures here on Aviagraph.
Please have a look to the images below. Many thanks to everyone at AMC Department SOC; Mr. Marno, Mr. Bambang, Didik, Rewang, Rifki, and Raka. Special credits to Dr. Michael Ing, LA, USA.
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| Sujud (Kissing the ground), Thanking the Lord for returning home safely |
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| Lining up transporters |
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| Most of the pilgrims commonly over 50 years old, and special treatment sometimes needed |
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| Breaking down the cargo |
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| carrying the gifts for everyone at home |
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| All controls belong to this car and officer inside it, that's AMC the department in charge |
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| short airport tour |
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| Cargo Transporters |
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| "Here we go, old man..and lift..." |
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| Capturing a moment in life |
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| I was so fortunate to capture this image clearly among the crowd !!! |
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| She's tough !!! Are you ??? |
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| Greeting Crew, welcoming the pilgrims with smiles |
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| Under Security Patrol guidance |
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| Welcome home, Mr. Haji |
