Social distancing implementation at Ngurah Rai international airport in Denpasar, Bali, managed by state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I. (AP I/Handout)
(The Jakarta Post) Jakarta ● Sat, October 16 2021
Social distancing implementation at Ngurah Rai international airport in Denpasar, Bali, managed by state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I. (AP I/Handout)
The government has reallowed international flights to Bali’s Ngurah Rai international airport, even though none have been scheduled so far, in a bid to revive the top tourism destination’s economy after over a year of travel restrictions.
The Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment minister wrote on Wednesday that Bali and the Riau Islands may accept international flights under certain conditions from 19 countries with low COVID-19 positivity rates and caseloads.
The eligible countries are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Norway. China and India are Bali’s second and third-biggest tourist source countries, with Australia holding top spot. The two Asian countries contributed 24.9 percent to the province’s total foreign tourist arrivals in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data show.
“I hope the reopening of Bali runs smoothly and the government will evaluate the reopening from time to time,” said Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan.
Tourists on such flights are required to quarantine for five days, show evidence of having received at least two vaccine doses, provide a negative PCR test result and have health insurance that covers COVID-19 treatment abroad, among other requirements.
Specific requirements are regulated under COVID-19 task force decree No. 14/2021 and circular letter No. 20/2021, both of which were issued on Wednesday.
Despite the reopening, I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport had yet to receive any landing requests from international flights as of Wednesday, according to Bali Deputy Governor Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati.
The coordinating ministry’s list excludes major tourist countries Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, among others, which are grappling with relatively high COVID-19 caseloads. Riau Islands is most popular with Singaporeans.
Travelers from unlisted countries must fly to Jakarta or Manado, then take a domestic flight to Bali or the Riau Islands, wrote the office of the coordinating ministry.
Luhut instructed other ministries, the Bali regional administration and Bali’s security forces to work out the technical details for international arrivals.
The government suspended international travel to the island province in April 2020 after the discovery of sustained COVID-19 cases in the country.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo initially hoped to reopen Bali in September 2020, but the move was repeatedly delayed as cases surged around the world, including during a Delta variant-fueled second wave in Indonesia earlier this year.
As a result, Bali posted year-on-year (yoy) declines in its gross regional product for five consecutive quarters, starting from the first quarter of 2020. The island’s economy grew a modest 2.83 percent yoy in the second quarter of this year, according to BPS data.
