International Flights To Bali Opened, Garuda Inaugurates Narita Japan-Denpasar Flight Route

Garuda Indonesia Airplane/PHOTO: Public Relations of Garuda Indonesia

JAKARTA - Starting today, the national airline Garuda Indonesia officially serves the first regular international flight to Bali with the Narita-Denpasar route in 2022. This flight is in line with the return of international flights through I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali.

The inaugural flight of the Narita-Denpasar route is served with the A330-300 fleet. Garuda also transported 30 tons of cargo from Japan, consisting of spare parts for construction, automotive, and electronic goods.

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, said that the operation of this flight was in line with the inauguration of the Denpasar-Narita special cargo flight route via Manado which began operating on Wednesday, February 2, 2022.

This is aligned with the government's policy regarding the opening of Bali's international entrances starting on February 4, 2022.

The inauguration of the Narita-Denpasar flight route is the result of cooperation between Garuda Indonesia and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, which also has full support from the Bali Provincial Government and the Indonesian Embassy in Japan.

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra said that the reopening of the Narita-Denpasar flight service was a form of Garuda Indonesia's commitment as a national flag carrier in supporting government programs. In particular, it is related to efforts to accelerate national economic recovery which is optimized through the provision of safe flight service accessibility.

Irfan said the Narita-Denpasar international flight was a separate momentum for the acceleration and synergy of all aviation stakeholders in supporting the revival of the national economic sector. Especially Bali, which is one of the integrated economic zones in Indonesia.

"This flight service is part of our efforts to maximize the market potential of Narita, Japan on an ongoing basis, both through cargo transportation market share which is focused on the transportation of Bali's leading export commodities through special routes for Denpasar-Manado-Narita cargo flights, as well as inbound passenger transportation to Indonesia via Denpasar-Narita flight route", he said in a written statement, Thursday, February 3.

Irfan said that at this early stage, the Narita-Denpasar flight will serve passengers who already have business visas as well as people who have met other travel criteria by international travel regulations that apply in Indonesia.

"The Narita-Denpasar flight route is served once a week on Thursday, with flight number GA 881 which will depart from Narita international airport at 09.15 LT and will arrive at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar at 16.00 WITA", he said.

Furthermore, Irfan said that the Narita-Denpasar flight also certainly has an important meaning for the commitment of all parties to jointly continue to adapt to accelerate their contribution to the national economic recovery in the midst of this new normal era.

"This commitment that we present is through the consistent application of health protocols in all of our service operational lines, which of course is also synergized with aviation service infrastructure with relevant stakeholders", he said.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, said that the reopening of Bali is expected to be a momentum for Indonesia's economic revival so that there will be wider job opportunities for the people.

"I appreciate the national airline Garuda Indonesia, which from today officially begins serving Narita-Denpasar flights, which are operated with the A330-300 fleet. Hopefully, with the opening of international entrances in Bali, we can revive our economy", said Sandiaga.

According to Sandiaga, the opening of a direct route to Bali is a policy that is right on target, on time, with the right benefits, and can understand the needs of the community. Especially actors in the tourism and creative economy sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.