Etihad Airlines Opens Abu Dhabi-Bali Direct Flights

DENPASAR - I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali, the arrival of additional international airlines Etihad Airways connecting Abu Dhabi-Denpasar via direct flights for the first time.

General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Handy Heryudhitiawan said this new route was a positive score because previously in Indonesia, Etihad was only present at Soekarno Hatta Airport.

"We believe that the addition of routes by Etihad will further strengthen the island of Bali as a world-class destination and become a form of our commitment to continue to improve services to service users," he said, Wednesday, June 26.

Handy also believes that the presence of one of the largest airlines in the world will open a new market share that has a positive impact on improving Bali's connectivity with various world destinations.

Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi, he said, can accommodate 45 million passengers every year with 120 destinations served worldwide.

"Several sources say there are at least 100,000 people who have traveled from or transited through the United Arab Emirates, including via Abu Dhabi and Dubai on their way to Bali last year, so we are quite optimistic that this route can be one of the routes with a good passenger occupancy rate," he said.

In its inaugural landing, Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi to I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Denpasar arrived at 11.35 WITA, with flight number EY476.

With the 787-900 Dreamliner aircraft, the inaugural landing was greeted with water salute.

Handy said the plane flew back to Abu Dhabi at 18.45 WITA with flight number EY477 which is planned to carry 250 passengers.

With a distance of about 7,529 km, this direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Bali and vice versa takes approximately nine hours and is scheduled to fly four times a week.