Jeju Air To Develop New Flight Routes To Bali From South Korea

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The low-cost airline Jeju Air has announced that it has signed off on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PT Angkasa Pura to develop new direct flight routes to Indonesia. PT Angkasa Pura is the state-owned enterprise responsible for many of Indonesia’s commercial airports. The news comes as officials in Bali share that more than a dozen airlines have submitted requests to schedule flights to I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. 

Jeju Air has signed an MoU with PT Angkasa Pura to establish new flight schedules between Incheon and Bali. The MoU also covers the development of a route from Icheon to Batam in the Riau Province. The agreement between the airline and airport operator includes details regarding the exploration of tourism business opportunities within Indonesia. 

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PT Angkasa Pura is owned by the Indonesian government and is responsible for fifteen airports across the country, including I Gusti Ngurah Rai International. The MoU states that Jeju Air will also increase routes to less touristic Batam as a part of the ‘ten new Bali’s’ initiative by the government. The move comes as the company is working to increase its flight schedules across the board.

The airline will be increasing its scheduled services from 2023 through to 2027 and is looking to compete with other low-cost airlines in South East Asia like AirAsia and Scoot. Jeju Air has ordered forty new B737-8 aircraft for a sum of USD 4 billion. 

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Jeju Air took a big hit during the pandemic. Before international travel restrictions, South Korea’s largest low-cost airline operated 87 routes, only 6 of which were domestic. Now the airline is operating just 37 scheduled and is actively seeking to expand once again after three years of consecutive financial losses. 

Travelers from South Korea can enter Bali as tourists as part of the visa-on-arrival scheme. Just last week, the new Directorate General of Immigration for Indonesia, Silmy Karim, announced a new system that allows tourists on e-visa on arrivals to extend their stay using an online portal.

It has previously been the case that tourists visiting Indonesia on a visa-on-arrival had to make three separate visits to Immigration Offices to extend their stay by 30 days. The new system is just another way that authorities in Indonesia are working to make it easier for tourists to visit the country, stay longer, and spend more. 

Tourists can expect there to be further developments in the visa system in the near future. The new head of Immigration is keen to revolutionize the way the department works for the betterment of everyone. In a press conference last week, Karim explained, “Immigration must shift, meaning we digitize, which is the direction of economic contribution through good and user-friendly service“.

For Bali, the shifts in the immigration system will make it easier than ever for tourists to come and explore the island. The other hugely impactful factor is flight availability. This week the Head of the Bali Province Tourism Office, Tjok Bagus Pemayun, confirmed that thirteen airlines have requested to schedule flights to Bali in the coming months.

Pemayun was unable to publicly announce which airlines have submitted requests while each route is still under review. He confirmed that the proposals had been submitted from four airlines from China, as well as airlines based in Japan, Russia, India, and the US. 

Indonesia’s Minster for Tourism and Creative Economies, Sandiaga Uno, has set tourism targets for 2023. The new flight schedules and upgrades to visa systems are all part of a big-picture move to dramatically increase the number of international visitors to tourism destinations, especially Bali. Minster Uno has said that he wants to see 7.4 million international tourists arrive in Indonesia in 2023 and 800 million domestic tourist movements by the end of the year.