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THE Ngurah Rai Airport Authority has not revised the target of passenger visits after the issuance of a circular requiring a negative result of the PCR-based COVID-19 swab test for air transport users.
Meanwhile, Ngurah Rai Airport projects that there will be 14,557 passenger visits per day during the Christmas and New Year periods. Currently, the number of passengers arriving at Ngurah Rai Airport is close to 10,000 passengers.
The latest data compiled by Bisnis, on December 14, 2020, arrivals at Ngurah Rai Airport reached 8,083 passengers. In fact, the arrival had touched 9,659 passengers as of December 11, 2020 due to the weekend.
According to the Stakeholder Relation Manager of PT Angkasa Pura I International Airport I Gusti Ngurah Rai, Taufan Yudhistira said that the swab test requirement does not change the application of passenger validation at the airport. Moreover, with the eHAC application, all passenger data with the rapid test and PCR test has been recorded.
Likewise, the projection of passenger arrivals remains in accordance with the initial figures and has not changed. To date, the passenger predictions that have been made have not changed,” he said.
On the other hand, GM Blue Bird in the Bali and Lombok areas I Putu Gede Panca Wiadnyana assessed that the government policy requiring swab testing would have a major impact on tourist visits so that the Christmas and New Year holidays this time will certainly not be followed by an increase in passengers.
“With the existence of government policies, it is most likely a zonk. PCR costs can be more expensive than tickets,” he said.
Likewise, the Chairman of GIPI Bali Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana assessed that tourist visits to Bali during the Christmas and New Year holidays will definitely be affected. However, compared to tourist visits, this policy is considered appropriate because it keeps Bali more sterile.
However, he has not yet projected how much there will be a decrease in tourist visits.
“Yes, it certainly has an impact, but the goal is better to keep Bali more sterile because most of the wisdom sources are from the red zone,” he said.
The Bali government has just issued a circular mandating a negative result of the PCR-based swab test and a negative result of the antigen rapid test at the latest two days before departure.
The PCR-based swab test applies to users of air transportation and the rapid test is applicable to users of private vehicles by land and sea.
Everyone is also prohibited from holding New Year’s celebration parties or the like inside or outside the premises, using firecrackers, fireworks or the like, and drinking alcohol.
This circular, which is valid from 18 December 2020 to 4 January 2021, takes into account the high transmission of positive cases of COVID-19 in Bali, which is marked by the emergence of new clusters. Moreover, during the Christmas and New Year holidays, there is a projection of an increase in the flow of visits to Bali, and a high potential for crowds. [bisnis.com/photo special]
