KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia reassured travelers on Monday that its operations would remain smooth during the annual mudik (mass exodus), following the recent threat of a pilots strike.

Garuda Indonesia president director Pahala N. Mansury said he had received an official statement from the Garuda Pilots' Association (APG) that it would not go on strike during the peak Idul Fitri holiday season.

"We are quite optimistic that all of us at Garuda Indonesia want to give the best service to the Indonesian people, especially during the peak holiday season," Pahala said.

He added that the Garuda management and the pilots' association had met to discuss their differences, facilitated by government institutions such as the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister and the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry.

The discussion had led to the establishment of a working group to solve the industrial dispute between the pilots' association, airline employees and Garuda management.

Pahala, however, said that the airline was still maintaining anticipatory measures in the case of a strike.

"There are anticipatory measures, such as in scheduling, safety and others. We are continuing to communicate with the Garuda Workers' Union (Sekarga) and the Garuda Pilots' Association," he said.

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie