Heavy Rain and Wind Cause Flight Delays and Diversions at Bali Airport

Heavy rain accompanied by strong winds hitting the Bali region caused a number of flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to experience delays, rescheduling and diversions to other airports on Tuesday (24 February).

Despite the disruptions, overall airport operations continued to run normally.

Gede Eka Sandi Asmadi, Communication and Legal Division Head of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, said heavy rainfall had been occurring in the airport area since the early hours of the morning.

“As of now, there are five flights affected by the weather conditions,” Eka Sandi said in a written statement on Tuesday.

For arriving flights, Cebu Pacific flight 5J 281 on the Manila–Denpasar route was diverted to Makassar at 00.12 WITA. The aircraft subsequently landed in Denpasar at 05.40 WITA.

In addition, Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 247 on the Phuket–Denpasar route was also diverted to Jakarta at 01.05 WITA. The aircraft eventually arrived in Denpasar at 07.02 WITA.

For departing flights, Cebu Pacific flight 5J 282 on the Denpasar–Manila route, originally scheduled to depart at 01.00 WITA, was not dispatched until 04.00 WITA.

TransNusa flight 8B 5254 on the Denpasar–Lombok route, initially scheduled to depart at 12.40 WITA, was rescheduled and departed at 15.29 WITA.

Meanwhile, Wings Air flight IW 1856 on the Denpasar–Lombok route, scheduled to depart at 11.10 WITA, departed at 12.08 WITA and arrived at 12.40 WITA.

Eka Sandi explained that PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia, as the airport operator, continues to coordinate with the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and AirNav Indonesia to monitor weather developments in the airport area in order to ensure flight safety and security.

“We are also ensuring that infrastructure and supporting facilities at the terminal remain in prime condition so that service quality for airport users stays optimal. We urge all users of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport to arrive at the airport earlier and to continually monitor traffic conditions en route to the airport for a smooth journey,” he said.

“We also encourage service users to coordinate with their airlines for the latest flight information,” he added.