Saturday, July 19, 2025
Saudi Arabia has significantly deepened its travel connectivity with Indonesia by supporting Lion Air’s launch of direct Umrah flights from Makassar to Jeddah, turning Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport into a vital spiritual gateway for eastern Indonesian pilgrims. With six weekly widebody departures, this new route eliminates the need for transits in other cities, offering a faster, more comfortable, and affordable pilgrimage experience. The initiative not only simplifies access to the holy city of Mecca but also strengthens bilateral ties while boosting the regional religious economy and empowering thousands of Indonesian Muslims to embark on their spiritual journey with ease.
A momentous achievement in Indonesian pilgrimage travel, direct Umrah flights from Makassar’s Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have officially opened launched by Lion Air. On 17 July 2025, pilgrims from eastern Indonesia can directly go to Medina and Mecca without having to transit in other cities such as Jakarta or Surabaya, allowing their pilgrimage to be more simple.
The launch represents a significant milestone for the airline, as part of its long-term commitment to widen accessibility to religious travel as well as ensuring greater safety, affordability, and comfort for all. Operating six weekly flights, the new route makes Makassar a new strategic hub for umrah travel, along with enhancing the role of the east in the development of a religious economy.
Game-Changing for Eastern Indonesia
Lion Air announced that the Umrah service is part of the commitment to carry out a program (Umrah) for Muslim public in eastern provinces to include Sulawesi, Maluku, NTT and Papua. There has been logistical nightmare for pilgrimages planning trips to these areas as few flight options exist, and it takes long to connect to those destination. With the introduction of this direct linkage to Jeddah, Lion Air is filling a much needed gap, and providing pilgrims with a more efficient and more dignified air transportation option.”
Time is not an issue when traveling. Our priority is to deliver a journey which is not only convenient and efficient but also comfortable and hassle-free from the moment a guest reaches air port until they arrive at their destination,” A Lion Air official says at the launch.
Inaugural Schedule and Frequency
The Makassar Umrah program by Lion Air is served with 6 weekly flights as follow:
Date Flight Number Hours Program Time Departed (WITA) Arrival Time (Local)
July 17 JT-092 13-day 09:40 16:30
July 19 JT-094 12-day 14:55 21:45
July 20 JT-092 12-day 09:40 16:30
July 21 JT-092 12-day 09:40 16:30
July 22 JT-095 13-day 15:15 22:05
July 23 JT-092 13-day 09:40 16:30
The image must be a passport size photo, in line with the present passport size photo you have already fixed and scanned ☺ These fixed slots are to bring some flexibility and sanity in terms of fixing flights for umrah organizers and travel agents who are dealing with group departures- yes!
Aircraft and Onboard Experience
Makassar–Jeddah route is operated by the latest Airbus A330-300CEO and A330-900NEO wide-body aircraft of Lion Air aircraft. Each of the planes has a capacity of 433 passengers, ready and able to serve massive numbers of pilgrims during the peak periods.
Here’s what passengers will see on board – a full-service experience dedicated to long-haul, religious travel.
30 kg Checked Baggage & 7 kg Hand Baggage
liters of zamzam water per pilgrim added
Inclusive meals and refreshments during the journey
Seats and in-flight service designed for extended comfort
Advanced aircraft technology means using less fuel and causing less environmental damage – a more and more central factor in the international world of aviation.
Importance of Soekarno Hatta International and Sultan Hasanuddin International Airports
With this new route, Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport is now one of the leading international gateways in Indonesia in terms of Umrah and pilgrimage travel. The city of Makassar from South Sulawesi, capital of South Sulawesi is also a good transit point to eastern part of the provinces with a good domestic flight network.
The airport’s newly built infrastructure, expansions and its strategic location close to eastern Indonesia made it the perfect location to grow outbound Umrah traffic. By naming this a strategic sector, the Saudi government will also likely bring more airport services, such as immigration processing, Hajj terminal space and religious travel support facilities, under the privatization umbrella.
Collaborative Launch and Community Support
Special guests from regional and aviation community played witness to the inaugural flight. Among those attending were the South Sulawesi Governor, PT Angkasa Pura I, Lion Air leaders, and religious travel representatives. The backing of more than 70 legal Umrah tour operators, such as Mafada Tour and M2 Wisata, indicates the solid regional cooperation behind this effort.
The joint-cooperation is in line with the mutual vision of raising Indonesia’s position as a religious tourism destination and at the same time strengthening regional economies.
The Wider Impact on Indonesia’s Religious Economy
With the largest number of Muslim populations in the planet, and with increasing demand for Umrah and Hajj travel yearly. The Ministry of Religious Affairs says more than 1 million Indonesians make the trip for Umrah each year. But lack of infrastructure in regional areas has historically routed most traffic through Jakarta or Surabaya.
Lion Air’s decision to decentralize Umrah operations has multiple layers of implications:
Greater access of the region for pilgrims of eastern Indonesia
Less travel stress & airport time
Financial boost from travel and hospitality industry
Increased competition of airlines in the sphere of religious travel
In addition to creating demand in underserved regions, Lion Air is redefining the travel landscape, while also promoting equitable economic development associated with faith-based tourism.
Conclusion: A New Era of Spiritual Travel
direct flights to perform Umrah from Makassar to Jeddah reflects not just an enhancement in logistical capabilities, but a qualitative leap in serving the spiritual needs of millions of its people. With world-class aircraft, carefully structured schedules, and robust interconnectability in the region, Lion Air is revolutionizing religious travel as we know it.
When pilgrims from eastern Indonesia take this holy pilgrimage, they now prefer to do so more comfortably, with greater dignity and ease of access,—ushering in a new and a more inclusive spiritual travel in the archipelago.”
