Heavy Rain Disrupts Flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport

General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Ahmad Syaugi Shahab, confirmed that by 5:00 PM WITA, seven flights had to be diverted to other airports for safety reasons.

“Due to the heavy rain, visibility was reduced to a level that prevented safe operations. The diverted flights landed in Surabaya, Lombok, and Singapore,” said Ahmad Syaugi.

Of the seven diverted flights, four were domestic and three were international. The domestic flights affected included routes from Kupang and Makassar, which were redirected to Surabaya, and Yogyakarta and Jakarta flights, which were diverted to Lombok. For international flights, Taipei flights were redirected to Surabaya, while Pudong flights went to Lombok, and Dubai flights were diverted to Singapore.

Ahmad Syaugi explained that the flight diversions were part of standard aviation safety procedures, especially when adverse weather conditions pose potential risks to passengers and crew. In addition to the diverted landings, the bad weather also caused delays for several flights. By the afternoon, eight domestic flights and four international flights were reported to have delays of 90 to 120 minutes from their scheduled departure times.

The airport has advised passengers to keep monitoring flight schedules through official channels and remain patient in light of the current situation. With the precautions in place, it is expected that flight operations will return to normal once the weather improves.

“We, along with all related stakeholders, are monitoring the weather conditions closely, maintaining coordination, and providing updated information,” he concluded. *ris