Impact of airspace closure: five flights from Bali cancelled

Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport reported that as of Sunday, five international departing flights with 1,631 would-be passengers from Bali were cancelled due to airspace closures across several Middle Eastern countries following the US-Israel and Iran conflict.

“Currently, we have five cancelled outbound flights. According to the data we’ve received, there are approximately 1,631 passengers affected,” said Gede Eka Sandi, Communication and Legal Division Head of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.

Eka Sandi, speaking in Badung District on Sunday, explained that the thousands of international passengers accumulated since the previous day, comprising passengers from Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad.

The affected flights included Etihad EY477 scheduled to depart at 18:45 Wita on Saturday on the Denpasar-Abu Dhabi route, Emirates EK369 scheduled for 19:45 Wita on Saturday on the Denpasar-Dubai route, Qatar Airways QR963 scheduled for 18:50 Wita on Saturday on the Denpasar-Doha route, Emirates EK399 scheduled for 00:25 Wita early Sunday on the Denpasar-Dubai route, and Qatar Airways QR961 scheduled for 00:30 Wita early Sunday on the Denpasar-Doha route.

Aircraft from Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad remained parked at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.

Eka Sandi confirmed that affected passengers, particularly those who had been waiting at the airport since the previous day, were being accommodated in hotels by their respective airlines. Other passengers had not yet arrived at the airport as they were already aware of the Middle Eastern conflict situation through intensive coordination with their airlines.

“We are working with airlines to ensure affected passengers are either accommodated in hotels, and from the airport’s side, we are setting up help desks to assist airlines in providing services to passengers so that when passengers request refunds, change routes, or modify schedules, they feel well-served,” said Eka Sandi.

As of now, there were no signs that cancelled or rescheduled flights would resume normal operations, as airspace in several countries remained closed.

However, I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport ensured that it would continue providing information updates and help desks would remain open until the issue was resolved. Eka Sandi was also maintaining intensive coordination with airport stakeholders such as AirNav and security authorities to ensure smooth operations for any passengers who had not yet received information.

Generally, besides flights transiting through countries with closed airspace such as Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and parts of Syria, flights to and from Bali were assured of operating normally.