Garuda Indonesia under the name of "Garuda Indonesian Airways". Throughout the revolution, Garuda supported national interests, and often carried diplomats on its flights. The Burmese government helped the airline significantly during its beginnings. The country's national airline, Union of Burma Airways, often chartered one of the airline's DC-3s for its own flights. Accordingly, upon Garuda's formal joint incorporation with KLM on 31 March 1950, the airline presented the Burmese government with a DC-3 as a gift. By the early and mid 1950s, the airline operated a fleet of 38 aircraft, which included 22 DC-3s, 8 Catalina seaplanes, and 8 Convair 240s, and
Garuda Indonesia rights activist Munir Said Thalib, travelling to Amsterdam via Singapore on Garuda Indonesia Flight 974, was assassinated by off-duty pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto, who slipped arsenic into his drink some time before the departure of the flight's second leg to Amsterdam. He was reported to have felt unwell several hours after departure from Singapore, during which time he was checked on by a doctor who happened to be on board, and moved to the business class cabin to sleep. He died approximately two hours before arrival into Amsterdam, sparking an international controversy, during which time Priyanto, along with CEO Indra Setiawan