Authorities from Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport have officially announced the temporary closure of airport operations for 24 hours as part of the Day of Silence celebration.
During the Day of Silence (Nyepi Day) celebration on Sunday (14/3), Bali will shut down nearly everything including offices, shops, schools, and the airport as a form of respect to this annual celebration in Hindu tradition.
The holiday aims to make time for rest and meditation across the entire island that is predominantly Hindu. The Stakeholder Relation Manager of Angkasa Pura Ltd, Taufan Yudhistira stated that the airport will be closed for 24 hours during the celebration.
“We will start to close the operation of Ngurah Rai airport from Sunday at 6:00 am to Monday at 6:00 am,” Taufan said on Thursday (11/3). He explained that this closure is based on the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) number: 0357/22 NOTAMN.
However, there are exceptions for any emergency situations such as emergency landing and medical evacuation. “We will still put some of our staff on standby for 24 hours just in case if there is an emergency situation” Taufan added.
Additionally, Taufan predicted that the airport will cancel at least 80 flights with over 7,000 passengers due to this policy. Meanwhile, the arrival at the domestic terminal of Ngurah Rai airport was slightly higher on Wednesday in comparison to previous days.
“We expected to have an increase of two percent on this weekend with an average 3,500 passengers on the arrival and 3,400 on the departure terminal” Taufan concluded.
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