TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Garuda Indonesia has responded to a social media post showing a passenger on flight GA 716 from Jakarta to Melbourne losing their mobile phone. Garuda Indonesia's Commercial Director, Ade R. Susardi, stated that the management regrets the incident.
Ade explained that the incident occurred on June 6, 2025. "Garuda Indonesia regrets the incident and apologizes for the discomfort experienced by the passenger," he said in a written statement on Monday, June 9, 2025.
Garuda is currently investigating the case with relevant stakeholders to support the reporting process. The internal team has also identified the chronological sequence of events by interviewing the cabin crew on duty. "To facilitate the investigation process, all cabin crews on duty have been temporarily suspended from flight duties," said Ade.
He added that upon receiving the report, the flight crew had followed standard operational and flight safety procedures. The management promptly responded to the report and coordinated with the local airport authorities. "Followed by a search process involving relevant airport staff," he said.
The management assisted the victim in making an official report to the local police. Garuda Indonesia reaffirms its commitment to ensuring the comfort and safety of its passengers. "Currently, we are continuing to communicate with the passenger and are committed to accompanying him in following up on this incident, with the aim of prioritizing the safety and comfort of all our passengers," said Ade.
Prior to this, a passenger of Garuda Indonesia, Michael Tjendara, reported the loss of his iPhone while on board the GA716 flight from Jakarta to Melbourne on Friday, June 6, 2025. He shared this story on his personal Instagram account, @michaeltjendara, and it went viral on social media.
Michael explained that upon takeoff, he was seated in seat 30D and placed his phone in the seat pocket. During the flight, he moved to seat 32E to rest. However, after the plane landed in Melbourne at 10:55 local time, the phone was no longer in its original place. "After landing in Melbourne at 10:55 a.m., my iPhone was missing from the seat pocket. I immediately reported it to the crew, but all passengers had already been released," he wrote.
Michael immediately tracked his phone using the Find My iPhone feature, which indicated its last location at Terminal 2 & Arrival Melbourne Airport around 11:26-11:48. He then reported it to the Garuda Office and met the Garuda Indonesia Station Manager in Melbourne, Samuel, and filed a report with the airport's Lost and Found section.
Shortly after, according to Michael, the phone's position was detected again at the Mercure Southbank Hotel at 1:02 p.m., a location known to be where the GA716 cabin crew stayed. "I was surprised, the hotel manager confirmed that only the GA716 crew checked in, there were no other passengers," Michael wrote in his post.
Michael contacted Garuda again, and with the Station Manager and General Manager of Garuda Melbourne, Ridho, conducted a search in several crew rooms. However, he said not all rooms were checked.
After the crew left the hotel around 4:00 p.m., the phone was traced to the edge of the Yarra River in the Southbank Promenade, about 100 meters from the hotel. Along with Garuda representatives, Michael continued to search the area. "At 4:48 PM, Mr. Samuel and Mr. Ridho and I, without any crew members, were still searching for the iPhone at the Southbank Promenade. We looked in trash cans, bushes, and drains," he said.
The phone was briefly tracked to the riverbank until 5:23 p.m., then at 7:33 p.m., its location moved to the middle of the Yarra River.
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