The budget airline carrying Australian tourists to Bali onboard will be forced to land at a new airport that is quite far from the popular holiday hot spots on the island. The construction of the new airport will begin in early 2020. As per the reports the new airport will be built at the opposite end of the current airport in Denpasar and will cater to passengers who use budget airline carriers.
The reports also revealed that the new airport which is under the plan, will be built several hours from the popular resort locations of Kuta and Seminyak. It is being built in order to provide relief at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, which is struggling with the number of daily flight arrivals.
The Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said that this measure has been taken as they were unable to build more runways on the current airport. She further added that the location of the new airport would also benefit them by opening up tourism in the northern side as it failed to receive much attention in the past years.
According to the data of the report, the new northern airport which is planned to open in 2022, will be receiving the major share that is around 70 percent of flights from Australia, with Jetstar being at the top in carrying approximately one million travellers between Australia and Indonesia last year.
In response to the location of the new airport location, Mr. Sumadi told the local media, “Means convenience of the airport in the south, make it better, in the north is service limitation,”
According to a Jetstar spokesperson, the current Denpasar airport was popular with passengers. He further added, “Our services into Denpasar are very popular, with customers loving the convenience the airport provides to hotels, beaches, and restaurants, but we are open to understanding more about the Indonesian Government’s second airport proposal.”
Ross Taylor from the Perth-based Indonesia Institute also said that the new airport will be definitely affecting the hundreds of thousands of travellers who venture to Bali on holiday every year. He further added, “The Australian dollar spent in Bali is critically important to the Balinese economy, and the Governor is very aware of that, and the last thing he would want to do is upset the thousands and thousands of Australians who are flying themselves with a two-and-a-half-hour drive to get to their hotel.”
