LONDON – A couple of weeks ago, we mentioned that Singapore Airlines was going to return flying to Bali, and indeed, after a nearly 2 years hiatus from flying to Bali, with officials saying that three more airlines are lining up to return to Bali.
“This is a positive sign that shows how international airlines and foreign tourists are regaining their confidence to fly and visit Bali,” said Faik Fahmi, the CEO of state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I on Sunday.
According to Fahmi, the three airlines resuming operations to Bali are KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Singaporean low-cost Scoot Tigerair, and Australian low-cost JetStar.
All 3 airlines have formally requested official permission from the government to be able to fly back to Bali.
KLM is scheduled to fly from Singapore to Denpasar four times a weekly schedule using a Boeing 777.
Scoot is planning to fly thrice a week, from Singapore to Denpasar with an Airbus A320.
Jetstar is also planning to fly thrice a week from not only Singapore but also from Sydney and Melbourne.
Jetstar is planning to fly the Airbus A320 from Singapore, while from Australia Jetstar is planning to either use the Boeing 787-8 or the Airbus A321.
Fahmi hasn’t given an estimate on the airline’s return to Bali.
“We hope that in the future the number of passengers and international flights to Bali can gradually increase and thus improve Bali tourism and economy simultaneously,” he added.
Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines were the first 2 airlines to resume flying internationally from Bali as the tourism relaunch began in earnest this month (February).
Between February 1 and February 18, officials have recorded over 600 international visitors to the island.