Bali flights rescheduled as world leaders arrive
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
Flights into and out of Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport will be rescheduled this week, to accommodate the arrival of various world leaders for the ASEAN Summit and East Asia Summit.
Local news portal tempointeraktif.com, reported the airport’s Operations Manager, Sugiono as saying today that the leaders’ arrivals were expected to disrupt approximately 50 scheduled flights, with normal airport operations stopping for 30 minutes prior to and 15 minutes after each landing.
“The standard operating procedures are the same for all presidential flights,” Sugiono said, adding that eight domestic and 11 international carriers had agreed to reschedule flights.
The biggest arrival is expected at around 6.45pm on Thursday, when US President Barack Obama is expected to touch down at Ngurah Rai. Obama will stay in Bali until Saturday, when his return flight is scheduled to depart at 5pm.
Indonesia’s President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is scheduled to arrive in Bali on today, a day ahead of the majority of ASEAN leaders who are expected on the island on Wednesday. UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, plus the leaders of several other Asian nations, including China, Japan and South Korea, will arrive on Thursday.
Security is tight in Bali this week, with soldiers and police on guard at many locations, especially at the airport and the Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center, where the summits will be held.
Photo by Randall Stevens