Paradise lost? Australian travellers headed to Bali are in for a nasty shock as plans are announced to force airlines to land at a new airport – HOURS away from holiday hotspots
- All budget airlines flying from Australia will be moved to a new airport in Bali
- The new airport is about three hours from existing airport and tourist hotspots
- It will impact thousands of Australians tourists travelling to Bali every year
- Indonesia has begun upgrading the major roads between the two airports
Australian tourists heading to Bali could be in for a nasty surprise, with budget airlines soon expected to land at a new airport – hours away from popular tourist destinations.
Indonesia will begin construction of a second international airport in the northern Bali village of Kubutambahan, up to three hours drive from the existing Denpasar airport.
Bali’s top tourist hotpots – Kuta and Seminyak – are in the island’s south and much closer to Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport.
Indonesia will begin construction of a second international airport in the northern Bali village of Kubutambahan, up to three hours drive from the existing Denpasar airport
Bali’s top tourist hotpots – Kuta and Seminyak – are in the island’s south and much closer to Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai International Airport
The Indonesian government said it will move to shift all the budget airlines to the new airport when its construction in completed in 2022.
‘All the lost-cost carrier in the north and the normal in the south,’ Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told Nine News.
Estimates suggest that about 70 per cent of flights from Australia would land at the new airport.
Jetstar carried close to one million travellers between Australia and Indonesia last year.
Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi (pictured) said budget airlines will be asked to land at a new airport, hours away from popular tourist destinations such Kuta and Seminyak
The Indonesian government said the existing airport has run out of space, with no room to add another runaway.
It will upgrade Denpasar airport once the new airport is operational.
Ross Taylor from the Perth-based Indonesia Institute said the plan won’t go down well with hundreds of thousands of Australian tourists who flock to Bali every year.
‘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,’ he said.
‘Something like 95 per cent of all arrivals will want to travel south.’
The Indonesian government has begun major road upgrades between the Denpasar airport and the new airport site.
It is also contemplating a railway line to transport people free of cost between the two airports.
Estimates suggest that about 70 per cent of flights from Australia would land at the new airport. Jetstar carried close to one million travellers between Australia and Indonesia last year