Jakarta. Lion Air on Friday apologized after a flight delay left around 400 Indonesian Umrah pilgrims stranded for two days at King Abdulaziz International Airport.

The airline said the disruption was caused by a delayed departure of flight JT-111 on the Jeddah–Jakarta route, stressing that passenger safety and operational readiness remained its top priorities.

“Lion Air sincerely apologizes to all Umrah pilgrims for the inconvenience caused by the delay,” the company's spokesman, Danang Mandala Prihantoro, said in a statement. “Safety, security, and passenger comfort are always our primary concerns in every Lion Air flight operation.”

Danang said the airline had taken a series of measures to assist affected passengers while they waited in Jeddah, including providing hotel accommodation, meals, and conducting comprehensive technical checks until the aircraft was declared safe to operate.

“All of these measures reflect Lion Air’s responsibility and commitment to maintaining passenger comfort throughout the delay,” he said.

Earlier reports said the pilgrims had been stranded at the airport since Wednesday night. As of early Friday morning local time, passengers were still waiting without clear information on when they would be flown back to Jakarta.

The prolonged uncertainty forced many pilgrims to spend the night in the departure terminal with limited facilities.

One pilgrim from Jakarta, identified as Sri, said she and hundreds of others had been waiting for two days without clarity on their departure schedule.

“We have been here for two days and one night without any certainty about when we will be flown back to Jakarta,” she told Jakarta Globe’s sister publication Beritasatu.com.

Sri added that conditions at the airport had become increasingly concerning, particularly for elderly pilgrims who were showing signs of exhaustion and illness.

“The situation is very distressing, especially with so many elderly pilgrims here,” she said.

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