IndiGo Airline inaugurated its service connecting Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) in the southern Indian state of Karnataka and Bali on Friday, 29 March 2024.
Handy Heryudhitiawan, the general manager of Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport, has issued a written statement welcoming IndiGo Airlines’ commencement of service.
In his statement, Heryudhitiawan said: “Discussions have been underway with Indigo Airlines since 2023. I want to express my appreciation to all the parties involved in making the inaugural flight by Indigo Airline to the Island of Bali possible.”
An IndiGo Airline Airbus A320, flight number 6E 1605, flew from Bengaluru and landed on Friday at 9:30 am, where it was welcomed by the airport’s fire brigade with a water salute.
The first flight, a weekly flight connecting Bengaluru and Bali, carried 183 passengers. The return flight departed at 11:20 am with 162 passengers on board.
Commenting further, the airport manager said: “We consider India an emerging tourism market for the Island of Bali with new routes, such as these, helping to ease India’s access to Bali. We believe the IndiGo Airline flight to Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport will positively contribute to the Indian and Indonesian tourism sectors.”
Heryudhitiawan revealed that 67,979 Indian nationals visited Bali in the first two months of 2024. Meanwhile, Australians continue to dominate foreign arrivals to Bali, with 217,262 traveling from “down under” to the Island in January-February 2024. Mainland Chinese tourists to Bali ranked third in the same period, at 94,542 travelers.
Heryudhitiawan continued: “In the past, direct air flights between Bali and India were only served by Vistara Airlines flying from New Delhi. With the addition of IndiGo Airlinese’s Bengaluru route, Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport now serves 33 destinations using 36 airlines.”
Airport authorities are predicting 23.6 foreign and domestic passengers for all of 2024.
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