In yet another indicator of domestic tourists propping up Bali’s tourism sector, the Ngurah Rai International Airport shared some flight statistics for January 2022 that has added towards hope for a revival of the travel industry.
According to airport management, Ngurah Rai served 598,971 incoming and outgoing passengers from 4,840 flights last month. Those numbers represent increases of 182 percent and 35 percent, respectively, from the same month last year.
“Compared to December 2021, there’s an 11 percent drop for passengers and a 10 percent drop for flights,” Ngurah Rai General Manager Herry A.Y. Sikado said yesterday, pointing to peak domestic air traffic for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Also Read — Bali now under Level 3 PPKM as Omicron continues spread
The central government this week raised Bali’s Enforcement of Restrictions on Public Activities (PPKM) protocol to Level 3 out of 4 amid rising COVID-19 cases. That said, the government has modified PPKM to be more relaxed compared to previous versions. Crucially for domestic travel, flights are still allowed to operate at full capacity under current restrictions.
Ngurah Rai’s January numbers do not include direct international flights, as those have only begun gradually returning to Bali this month.
Also Read — Quarantine hotels and direct flights: Bali gears up for international tourism re-relaunch
