Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport prepared for reopening international flights

 

October 10, 2021 

Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport operator and local tourism stakeholders conducted a simulation on international arrivals handling to assess the airport’s readiness for resuming international flights next Thursday (October 14, 2021).

“Today, we conducted a simulation to test our standard operating procedure on handling international arrivals,” Transportation Ministry’s director general of air transport, Novie Riyanto, informed in Badung, Bali, on Saturday.

The simulation involved 90 people, including two infants, from the airport community, he said. They were simulated to arrive from Incheon Airport, South Korea, and directed to follow international arrivals procedures, he added.

The passengers were directed to a thermal scanner upon disembarking from the aircraft, he said. Those with body temperature below 38 degrees Celsius were allowed to proceed, while those whose temperature was above the limit were directed to the observation room for a health assessment, he disclosed.

Passengers directed to the observation room underwent a health assessment, with those deemed healthy allowed to proceed, while arrangements were made to transfer unhealthy passengers to the hospital, Riyanto said.

After passing the temperature checks, arriving passengers were directed to the registration counters to get a printed barcode for the next procedure, he added. At the next post, passengers were asked to present mandatory arrival data, including health certificates and proof of quarantine hotel observation, to the airport official, he informed.

After the registration point, passengers were directed to undergo a COVID-19 PCR test before proceeding for an immigration check, he said.

The passengers were then directed to a holding area after passing immigration checks to meet with the staff of their quarantine hotel while awaiting the PCR test result, Riyanto stated. The officials estimated the procedure would take around 60 minutes, he said.

The director general said the authority would assess and evaluate the simulation result to allow procedure revisions before the airport begins allowing international arrivals on Thursday while ensuring a detailed and strict implementation of protocols to protect passengers’ health and prevent COVID-19 infection.

“We will arrange the procedure in detail, including arranging the flight slots, passengers walk direction, and the PCR test procedure. We are proceeding with the simulation to improve our procedure and ensuring correct implementation on D-day,” Riyanto remarked. (ANT)