Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport Becomes A 'victim' On A Plane For A PCR Test

Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali. (Photo: Doc. Angkasa Pura I)

JAKARTA - The number of passengers at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali has decreased. This is in line with the enactment of new conditions for traveling by air, in which passengers from and to Java and Bali must use a negative PCR test.

The mandatory 3x24 hour PCR policy has been in effect since Sunday, October 24. Previously, passengers could use an antigen test as a condition of travel, but provided that they had carried out a second dose of vaccination.

On Sunday, there were 6,537 passengers who arrived at Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. This number is down, when compared to Thursday to Saturday, where the average number of passengers reached 9 thousand to more than 7 thousand.

Meanwhile, on Monday, October 25, the number of passengers arriving at Bali's I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport also decreased to 6,147. This number decreased compared to the previous day which recorded 6,537 passengers.

Stakeholder Relations Manager Angkasa Pura I (Persero) International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Rai Taufan Yudhistira said the decline in the number of passengers could not be fully due to the mandatory PCR test rule.

"If you look at the pattern, it's not. But, of course we will still see the next few days until next Sunday (to see the impact)," he said when contacted by VOI, Tuesday, October 26.

Meanwhile, for passenger departure data from Bali via I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, it was recorded that there was an increase on Saturday, October 23 to reach 9,720 passengers and on Sunday, October 24 it reached 10,804 passengers.

"For Monday, there were 8,799 passengers departing from Bali's I Ngurah Rai International Airport," he said.

According to Taufan, from previous experience when the PCR test was implemented there was indeed a decline in passengers at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.

"Yes. But in our opinion, the current period is not too deep (a lot of decline). (Because) PCR is cheaper than before," he explained.

Previously, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Uno explained that the new rule for mandatory PCR tests as a condition for Java-Bali flights was the government's effort in anticipating a surge in the third wave of COVID-19 cases.

Sandi said the tightened health protocol rules would further distance Indonesia from the potential third wave. Moreover, currently found new variants in several countries.

"In anticipation of the Nataru (Christmas and New Year) holidays and the third wave, and new variants such as delta-X or sub-delta in some parts of the world such as the UK," said Sandi, in a press briefing, quoted Tuesday, October 26.

The mandatory PCR policy, said Sandi, must be carried out considering that currently a number of airlines have also implemented full passenger capacity in their operations.

"Because the flight requirements are no longer 70 percent and are already 100 percent. So a decision was taken, there was a belief that those traveling did not have COVID-19, then a PCR test had to be done," he said.