18 August 2022 – Bali Airport to improve tourist comfort after a number of divisive and unfounded remarks started to circulate online. It has taken proactive measures to maintain the island’s reputation as a secure and comfortable tourist destination and notwithstanding the falsity of the comments.
The initial claim was made by travel blogger Sebastian Powell, who said earlier in August that Bali Airport had “huge” lines that took five hours to move through. The second came from Senator Pauline Hanson of Australia, who said Bali was covered with cow dung.
The deputy governor of Bali, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, commonly known as Cok Ace, examined the immigration procedure during his visit and asked about passenger wait times. Cok Ace revealed to the media during his visit on August 2nd that the processing of the passenger’s items (luggage) does appear to take a while—between 30 and 1 hour. However, the waiting period for passenger goods can be cut down. Nobody is to blame for this; yet, that is how the mechanism works.
A spokesperson from Bali Airport said that while lines can be anticipated during busy times, such as on a Friday afternoon, they typically don’t last longer than an hour and a half, and the majority of passengers breeze through the arrival procedure without any hassle.
Cok Ace asked Bali Airport to improve tourist comfort by offer more seats in the arrival hall after his visit. It is envisaged that the seats in the arrivals area will improve tourist’s comfort in general.
Cok Ace asked for more seating options so that anyone who would find it difficult to stand in a line of any duration, such as people with impairments, young families, or anyone who wasn’t feeling well, would have a comfortable spot to rest.
Cok Ace’s plea was approved this week. Sandiaga Uno, the minister of tourism and creative economy, and Marshall Pribadi, the CEO of PT Privy, sent 100 extra seats to Ngurah Rai International Airport. According to Handy Heryudhityawan, the general manager of Ngurah Rai Airport, the chairs will be positioned everywhere across the arrivals area, including near immigration, so that anyone who needs to use them can do so.
