TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Ngurah Rai International Bali Airport temporarily stops 84 flights on Sunday, March 14, in the commemoration of Nyepi's 1943 Saka New Year, or the Day of Silence. The airport will stop its operation for 24 hours starting at 6 a.m. on Sunday until 6 a.m. on the next day, March 15.

“We’ve coordinated with related stakeholders, mainly to the airliners,” said the state airport operator Angkasa Pura I Faik Fahmi in a press release on Saturday, March 13.

He made sure that the airliners would adjust to the policy by not selling tickets from and to Bali during Nyepi. The flight authority also informed global aviation regarding this matter, even though there are no international flights to Bali during the pandemic. Fahmi said the airport would still serve emergency flights.

Based on the data from the airport, out of 84 flights of the Bali route, 41 are arrival flights and 43 are departure flights. Garuda Indonesia is affected the most with 23 flights, followed by Citilink and Wings Air with 18 and 12 flights, respectively.

In the past two days, Angkasa Pura I recorded an increase in passengers arriving at or departing from Ngurah Rai International Bali Airport. On March 11, the number of passengers was recorded at 87,287 people, which is a 4 percent increase from the previous day at 83,896 passengers. Meanwhile, there was a 29 percent increase on March 10, compared to the previous day.

Read: Bali Airport to Close 24 Hours on Nyepi Day

Francisca Christy Rosana