Skytrain could be coming to Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport

Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport could be getting a really cool and useful upgrade: an unmanned skytrain.

Following the “success” of the installation of an unmanned skytrain at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Indonesia’s Department of Transportation is exploring the possibility of putting one in Bali next.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi says adding such a service to Bali would increase the airport’s competitiveness internationally and would better equip the airport to handle the government’s lofty arrival goals for the island.

“It’s possible one will be built in Bali, because Bali will see an increase from 20 million passengers to 40 million passengers (annually),” Sumadi said in Jakarta on Sunday, as quoted by Tribun Bali.

However, Sumadi would not comment on a proposed timeline for when the construction on the project would begin.

Sumadi also didn’t go into other specifics about where exactly the skytrain would run, but since Bali has two main terminals–international and domestic–it makes sense that a skytrain would connect the two.

As the country’s second busiest airport after Jakarta, Sumadi says it’s essential that Bali’s airport appeals to passengers because it’s often travelers’ first impression of Indonesia.

“We must constantly improve the level of service by making innovations to make travelers more comfortable.”

Jakarta’s unmanned, 24-hour skytrain, linking the airport’s Terminals 2 and 3, just went operational on Sunday after a trial run.

An unmanned skytrain isn’t the government’s only goal for Bali’s airport. Immigration at Ngurah Rai has also expressed plans to install autogates for help checking the surging volume of foreign visitors at the airport.