Bali Airport Apologises For Blackout As Tourist Flight Schedule Resumes 

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Regular flight scheduling has been resumed at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport after a significant power outage plunged the terminals into darkness and grounded flights.

The incident took place on Friday, 10th October, but travel disruption rippled through the weekend. 

The Acting President Director of PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia, which is also known as InJourney Airports, has issued a formal apology for the power outages that impacted travel in and out of the international terminal at Ngurah Rai over the weekend.

In a written statement, Mohammad R Pahlavi shared, “On behalf of InJourney Airports, as the operator, we apologize to airport service users, aircraft passengers, airlines, and partners.”

He confirmed that an investigation is underway to understand why the power outage occurred and to ensure nothing similar happens again. Pahlavi wrote, “In parallel, we have taken the necessary steps to prevent this incident from recurring.”

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Speaking to reporters, the General Manager Ahmad Syaugi Shahab shared, “We apologize for the incident.” Adding “During the power outage, we implemented manual handling so that all processes, such as check-in and passenger service, could continue smoothly.”

The blackout impacted 42 international flights and 32 domestic flights. However, Syaugi confirmed that no flights were diverted or canceled, including return to base flights. Though the blackout only lasted one hour, the knock-on impact in terms of delays for tourists and travelers was significant. 

Shahab shared, “We are currently investigating and continuing to check all equipment. Going forward, we will conduct an evaluation to improve the quality of the electrical system to prevent a similar incident from happening again.” 

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This is not the first time that Bali has experienced a major blackout in recent months. On Friday, 2nd May, Bali experienced a province-wide power outage that left 50% of the island without power for more than 24 hours, though half the island did have power restored within two and a half hours.

The General Manager of PLN UID Bali, which is the electrical grid agency, Eric Rossi Priyo Nugroho, told reporters, “The UP2D (Distribution Management Implementation Unit) team detected a decrease in load on two feeders supplying the international terminal.”

He confirmed that in terms of the PLN electricity system, the entire network is deemed to be in a safe condition and there are no further disruptions anticipated. He noted, “However, we are still conducting rapid field inspections to ensure that all supply flows are running normally.”

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Bali Airport is the second busiest airport in Indonesia, and welcomes over 30,000 passengers a day during the low season and upwards of 60,000 a day during peak travel periods such as religious holidays and school vacation times.

Between January and September 2025, Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport served 18 million passengers, a 1% increase on the same period in 2024. 

Bali is on track to smash tourism targets in 2025. Although the low season is officially underway, arrival numbers will spike again towards December and the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Typically, during the Christmas and New Year period, known in Indonesia as Nataru, Bali welcomes an additional one million visitors, both domestic and international.

Speaking to the release of the latest travel data, Shahab told reporters, “This demonstrates the strong export-import activity through Bali. This consistent growth is the result of collaboration between all airport stakeholders.”

“We express our appreciation for the synergy between all parties in maintaining service at the airport, and we will continue to strive to maintain operational and service quality.”

Shahab explained that the majority of passengers traveling through Bali Airport between January and September 2025 were international tourists arriving and departing Indonesia through Bali.

Of the total 18 million passengers, 11,537,703, or 63%, were international, while 6,694,068, or 37%, were served by domestic routes.

Shahab concluded, “This composition shows that Bali remains a major destination for international tourists, while maintaining strong movement in the domestic market.”