BADUNG, DEWATA.NEWS – International flights between Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and several Middle East destinations are gradually resuming following previous airspace disruptions in the region, although full operations have not yet returned.
Airport officials confirmed that only one Middle Eastern aircraft remains parked at the airport, significantly reduced from five aircraft belonging to three different airlines during the peak of the disruption.
The remaining aircraft is a Boeing 777 operated by Qatar Airways, which has been at the airport since the Middle East airspace closure earlier this year.
“Currently, there is one aircraft from a Middle Eastern airline still parked at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport since the airspace closure in the Middle East, namely a Qatar Airways Boeing 777,” said Gede Eka Sandi Asmadi, Head of the Communication and Legal Division at the airport, on Saturday (March 14).
According to airport data, from February 28 until mid-March, a total of 122 flights were canceled due to the disruption. The cancellations included 63 departing flights and 59 arriving flights.
These flights were primarily serving routes between Bali and major Middle Eastern hubs such as Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.
Airport authorities said approximately 14,000 international departing passengers were affected during the disruption period.
Some airline operations have gradually resumed in recent weeks. An Etihad Airways aircraft that had remained at the airport since February 28 departed for Abu Dhabi on Wednesday (March 11) at 19:11 WITA.
However, the airline’s Abu Dhabi–Denpasar route has not yet fully resumed regular operations.
Meanwhile, Emirates has restored part of its service between Bali and Dubai. The airline resumed the Denpasar–Dubai route on Thursday (March 5) using an Airbus A380 aircraft under flight number EK369. The return route from Dubai to Denpasar resumed the following day under flight number EK368.
These services are currently operating regularly.
However, Emirates flights EK398 and EK399, which are typically operated using Boeing 777 aircraft, have not yet returned to regular schedules.
“The Emirates Boeing 777 that had been parked at Ngurah Rai Airport has returned to Dubai on Wednesday, March 11 at 00:49 WITA,” Eka Sandi added.
Qatar Airways also resumed a flight using the aircraft that had been stationed in Bali since February 28. The flight departed from Denpasar to Doha on Thursday (March 12) under flight number QR961.
Despite this progress, airport authorities confirmed that the route has not yet fully resumed normal operations.
Officials said they continue to monitor developments affecting Middle East airspace while coordinating with airlines regarding the gradual normalization of international flight schedules.