Summary
- Bali’s main airport, Ngurah Rai International Airport, is 8.1 miles from Denpasar and 2nd busiest in Indonesia.
- Jetstar is the second-largest carrier to Bali, offering the most international seats.
- The top 5 international carriers at DPS include Indonesia AirAsia, Jetstar, Batik Air Malaysia, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Australia.
The main airport of Bali, known as
Denpasar
International Airport, or officially as I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), is the primary point of entry for passengers traveling to the Indonesian paradise of Bali, a tourist mecca for those interested in visiting ancient temples, gorgeous beaches, a spot of surfing or snorkeling, and plenty of Instagram worthy vantage points.
Ngurah Rai International Airport is 8.1 miles (13 kilometers) from the heart of Denpasar and serves all of
Bali
. It is the second busiest airport in Indonesia, after Jakarta’s Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (CGK). The airport has developed into one of the best-known airports worldwide through multiple upgrade projects. The airport category is IX and can welcome some of the largest commercial aircraft in operation, including the
Boeing 747-8
and
Airbus A380
.
The airport is named after I Gusti Ngurah Rai, a Balinese hero who died in a ‘fight to the death,’ also known as a pulutan, against the Dutch at Marga in Taban on November 20, 1946. The Dutch defeated his company with air support, which was part of the Indonesian Revolution in 1946.
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Data for this article was sourced from Cirium, an online aviation analytics company.
Australia is a key market
DPS today is today a hive of activity, welcoming international airlines from around the world. One of the airport’s most popular markets is
Australia
, where multiple airlines connect Bali to various state airports. These include:
|
Airline |
Australian destinations |
|---|---|
|
Batik Air |
Canberra, Perth |
|
Batik Air Malaysia |
Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
|
Garuda Indonesia |
Melbourne |
|
Indonesia AirAsia |
Cairns |
|
Jetstar |
Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney |
|
Qantas |
Melbourne, Sydney |
|
Virgin Australia |
Adelaide, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney |
Source: GCMap
With this, it’s no surprise that Jetstar remains the second-largest carrier at DPS by number of flights – 8,431 for 2024 (both arriving and departing). However, what are the top five international airlines that serve I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS), and where are they headed? Let’s check it out:
Top five international carriers at DPS
Indonesia AirAsia
Sister carrier to Malaysian
AirAsia
, Indonesia AirAsia has the stronghold in Bali for the most international arriving and departing flights from the airport. Its 1,686,600 annual seats represent available seat miles (ASM) of 2,310,989,040, connect passengers from DPS to:
- Bangkok–Don Mueang
- Cairns
- Hong Kong (from October 1, 2024)
- Kota Kinabalu
- Kuala Lumpur–International
- Perth
- Phuket
- Singapore
Jetstar
Australia’s
Jetstar airways
takes second place for the most international arriving and departing flights at DPS, with 8,431 in 2024; however, as it deploys both the Airbus A320 and Boeing 787 to the Indonesian tourist hotspot, it takes the lead for the most international seats to/from the airport this year.
Jetstar will offer 1,936,650 seats from DPS in 2024, representing ASMs of 4,588,998,016. As noted above, it connects Bali to seven Australian destinations. While its sister carrier, Jetstar Asia, doesn’t feature in the top five, this carrier also serves Bali to Singapore directly.
Batik Air Malaysia
Another airline dominating the skies above Bali is Batik Air Malaysia; it’s a modest network from DPS that serves five destinations, representing 6,602 arriving and departing flights combined. This is 1,225,360 seats this year and 2,187,976,394 available seat miles. If you’re heading to Bali on Batik Air Malaysia, you will be traveling from one of these international gateways:
Source: GCMap
It’s worth noting that the figures above exclude operations by its sister airline,
Batik Air
, which carries the IATA code ID. Batik Air’s international network from Bali includes Bangkok–Don Mueang, Canberra, Perth, and Singapore.
Legacy carriers round out the final two
Singapore Airlines
From it’s hub at
Singapore Changi International Airport
(SIN), the flag carrier of Singapore is the only Asian legacy carrier to feature in Bali’s top five. Connecting the two cities with up to five daily flights onboard is Boeing 787-10 or 737-8 MAX aircraft. Flights are scheduled throughout the day to provide easy connections for passengers from the wider SQ network.
This year, SQ will operate 4,380 flights to and from Bali, representing 1,309,896 eats or 1,358,362,152 available seat miles.
Virgin Australia
While Virgin Australia’s network is a shadow of what it once was before the pandemic, its commitment to Bali has not subsided. The Brisbane-based carrier rounds out the top five international carriers to Bali, with services in five Australian cities (Adelaide,
Brisbane
, Gold Coast, Melbourne, and Sydney). The data for VA is below:
|
Flights (to and from) |
3,541 |
|---|---|
|
Seats |
623,216 |
|
Available seat miles (ASMs) |
1,721,655,232 |
virgin australia
historically also connected Perth and Port Hedland (charter) to Bali, however post-pandemic these have not been resumed.
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Other notable mentions
With Bali’s popularity continuing to grow, there are many more carriers that we could list. Emirates is the only carrier operating the Airbus A380 to Bali, while its neighbor Etihad Airways just launched its own connection to the Indonesian tourist hotspot.
Other leading carriers with international flights to Bali include Vietjet (Vietnam), which serves Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with 3,176 annual flights, and Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, serving Melbourne, Seoul–Incheon, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo–Narita with 3,079 yearly flights.