Friday, March 29, 2024 | 01:12 WIB

74 years of Garuda Indonesia: victorious, precarious and now zealous for a new beginning

Jakarta, IO – January 26, 2023, marks the 74th year of Indonesia’s national pride, Garuda Indonesia. Founded on January 26, 1949, the airline was inaugurated by the proclaimer of Indonesia’s independence and first president, Sukarno. 

Garuda Indonesia used to be a Dutch airline, operating in the Dutch East Indies under the name Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KNILM). Once the Dutch retired from Indonesia, in 1949, KNILM was nationalized by Sukarno, becoming Garuda Indonesia Airways. 

One of Garuda Indonesia’s early flights was when Bung Karno’s family, including young Megawati Soekarnoputri, departed from Yogyakarta’s Maguwo Airport (now Adisutjipto) to Jakarta as the center of state administration returned to Jakarta after being temporarily moved to Yogyakarta. 

In the 1960s, Garuda Indonesia also commenced transportation services for Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia after decades of using sea transportation to the holy land. 

During its journey, Garuda Indonesia Airways was also actively involved in dispatching military personnel to East Timor in the 1980s, as Indonesia had to deal with the separatist group in in that troubled island. 

I felt the need to recount Garuda Indonesia’s valorous stories because, these days, many, including those in the House of Representatives, are unaware of the national-pride airline’s history. 

In the early years of the Millennium, Garuda Indonesia was slammed with a number of problems, including debts amounting to IDR 190 trillion. Demands for Garuda Indonesia’s sell-off were heard here and there. 

One rationale was the emergence of Lion Group airlines, whose feet seemed more efficient. Indeed, since its establishment, Garuda Indonesia has been no stranger to disputes. 

Take, for example, the issue of its formation. There are three versions: December 28, 1948, January 26, 1949, and March 1950, according to the Company’s articles of incorporation. 

However, decades have passed since an agreement was made to select January 26 as Garuda Indonesia’s anniversary, up to the present time. 

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