Garuda Indonesia Indonesia officially joined the SkyTeam alliance and became its 20th member. The inclusion of Garuda Indonesia adds 40 new destinations to SkyTeam’s global network and strengthens the alliance presence in Southeast Asia and Australia. To commemorate the event, the airline repainted an Airbus A330-300, a Boeing 737-800, and a Bombardier CRJ1000 with SkyTeam livery. In addition to repainted aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER was delivered with SkyTeam livery. With the arrival of Garuda Indonesia to SkyTeam, a variety of facilities are given as including SkyPriority, as well as changing its current frequent flyer membership into GarudaMiles. In addition, Garuda is connected
Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 armed with new weapons, including Heckler & Koch MP5s. They set off for Thailand using a Garuda Indonesia McDonnell Douglas DC-10. On Monday, 31 March 1981, the team was ready, but the Thai government did not give permission for Indonesian forces to take over the aircraft as it was on Thai territory. In desperation, the Indonesian Strategic Intelligence Chief Benny Moerdani contacted a friend at the CIA station in Bangkok to persuade the Thai government to give permission. The Thai government finally approved the raid with the assistance of the Royal Thai Air Force Security Force Regiment (SFR). On Tuesday,