The growing number of international flight routes to and from Bali, in addition to the beginning of the school summer break, has significantly influenced the airport’s capacity increase.
The General Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I Ngurah Rai International Airport, Handy Heryudhitiawan, disclosed that the passenger capacity at Ngurah Rai Airport currently stands at 24 million passengers. It is estimated that the number of passengers flying to and from the airport will reach at least 23.6 million people soon. Thus, increasing the airport’s capacity to 32 million passengers was deemed necessary.
Furthermore, according to Heryudhitiawan, the capacity increase will be achieved by expanding several areas in the airport’s domestic, international, and other terminal sections. This will include enlarging the x-ray area, departure hall, and passenger waiting rooms.
“There are around four or five additional expansions. That should increase the airport’s capacity to 32 million people. We calculate that this capacity should suffice until approximately 2031 or 2032,” Heryudhitiawan told the press on Saturday, the 13th of July.
The airport’s plan to increase capacity is also a response to the growing number of foreign airlines that have established more international flight routes to and from Ngurah Rai Airport. Since the beginning of school summer breaks in Indonesia this year, it has been reported that the number of passengers flying to and from the airport has increased by 19 percent, or approximately one million people.
“We recorded a 19 percent increase in passenger traffic during the school holiday period, serving an average of 74,000 passengers per day — in contrast to the overall number from the year 2024 [so far], which is, on average, 62,000 passengers per day,” Heryudhitiawan added.