TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) has informed that I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Badung district, Bali province, has reopened the Bali-Bangkok flight route.

"Since both the places are tourism destinations, we expect that the reopening of the route will draw more people to have a safe and comfortable vacation again (in Bali province), in accordance with health protocols," president director of PT AP I, Faik Fahmi, said in a statement released here on Wednesday.

The route is currently served by a Thai airline, Thai AirAsia, he informed. The inaugural flight marking the route’s reopening was conducted on April 12, 2022.

The plane departed from Don Mueang Airport, Bangkok, Thailand, with 128 passengers and landed at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport at 11:53 a.m. Central Indonesian Standard Time (WITA) after a four-hour journey.

The plane then flew back to Bangkok at 12:56 p.m. WITA with 29 passengers on board.

The route will be served twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

"Thailand is the third Southeast Asian country that has reopened flights to Bali. Earlier, Singapore and Malaysia have done the same," the president director said.

Currently, there are a number of airlines that are processing the reactivation of their flight routes to Bali through the Transportation Ministry, he disclosed.

"Hence, at the end of this week, there will also be another reopening of international flight route. We are very optimistic about the potential of the implementation of regular international flights to and from Bali," he said.

Currently, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport is serving nine regular international routes to Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Istanbul, Perth, and Bangkok.

The airlines operating on the routes include Garuda Indonesia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Jetstar Asia, Scoot, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Jetstar Airways, AirAsia, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, and Thai AirAsia.

Since the reopening of international flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport on February 3, 2022, until April 11, 2022, 64,361 passengers and 513 aircraft have flown in and out of Bali.

Read: Passenger Traffic at AP I Airports Rises by 20% after Govt Drops PCR Requirement

ANTARA