Every year, all of Bali, including the airport, shuts down for Nyepi, the Balinese Hindu New Year and “Day of Silence.”
Traveling is among four different things prohibited during the special holiday, along with no working, no entertainment or pleasure, and no use of bright lights.
But safety is of course still a concern and even though the airport will be closed, it’ll still be on standby for emergencies during the 24-hour period beginning 6 am on March 9.
“For commercial use, our airport will be closed, but since we are an alternate airport, if there’s an emergency, the airport will still be able to accommodate for it,” Airport Authority Head for the Bali-Nusa Tenggara region Yusfandri Gona said in Denpasar on Thursday, as quoted by Tribun Bali.
If an aircraft going between Asia and Australia experiences an emergency on Nyepi, they can make an emergency landing in Bali that day, Gona says.
With the crazy amount of emergency and last-minute flight diversions to Bali in the past month, it’s not totally out of the question that Bali could see some action that day (looking at you AirAsia and Lion), but let’s hope this Nyepi is a peaceful, quiet day.
