Indonesia will allow international flights to land its tourist island Bali next week as it weighs reopening the country to foreign tourists for the first time in more than 18 months.
International carriers from some countries including China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates could resume flights to Bali on October 14.
Bali’s Ngurah Rai international airport will be open to foreign tourists from that date for eligible passengers that are Indonesian citizens as well as foreigners with a work permit or business visa. They would be subject to eight days quarantine at a hotel at their own expense.
Foreign tourists have been barred from entering Indonesia since April of last year, and international flights have been allowed to land only in Jakarta, the capital, and the city of Manado on Sulawesi island.
Indonesia’s tourism minister, Sandiaga Uno, told reporters that reopening Bali’s airport to overseas flights would serve as a “trial opening of Bali for foreign tourists,” though he did not provide a timetable for their return. Domestic tourists are already allowed to visit.
