Severe Weather Grounds Seven Flights at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport

Seven Flights Diverted to Surabaya and Lombok amid Bali‘s Heavy Rain

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – A total of seven flights were unable to land at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport on Saturday, December 28, and were diverted to Surabaya and Lombok, according to General Manager Ahmad Syauqi Shahab.

The flight diversions were a result of heavy rainfall that persisted throughout the morning. Out of these, five were domestic flights, and two were international, Syauqi said, as reported by Antara on Saturday.

Two domestic flights bound for Bali – Lion Air’s Semarang-Bali and Yogyakarta-Bali routes – were diverted to Surabaya. Meanwhile, three other domestic flights – Batik Air’s Surabaya-Bali, Super Air Jet’s Surabaya-Bali, and Lion Air’s Balikpapan-Bali – were redirected to Lombok.

In addition, the international flights affected were Malindo Air’s Melbourne-Bali route, which was diverted to Surabaya, and Air Asia’s Perth-Bali route, which was rerouted to Lombok.

Ngurah Rai Airport stated that flight diversions are a standard safety procedure in aviation, often employed during adverse weather conditions. As of this afternoon, the procedure has been activated due to intense heavy rain causing minimal visibility.

This incident serves as a reminder of the impact that severe weather can have on air travel, and the importance of safety measures implemented by airports and airlines to ensure the well-being of passengers.