Airport to close for Nyepi

Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The Bali Transportation Agency will close Ngurah Rai Airport and the island's seaports during Nyepi, the Hindu Day of Silence, on March 7 this year.

"The airport will be closed from 6 a.m. on March 7 to 6 a.m. the next morning," air transportation division head Krisdiyanto told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

He said that Bali Governor Dewa Beratha had sent letters to all related institutions about the temporary closing of the airport and seaports.

"However, the airport will not be closed totally. Airplanes will still be able to transit for technical landings for fuel refilling and emergency landing, but all crew and passengers should stay in the airplane during the transit," he said.

He said expected all people to respect the Hindu religious ritual of Nyepi.

During Nyepi, Hindus are not allowed to turn on lights or light fires, may not do physical activities except for spiritual purification rituals, and cannot travel or take part in entertainment.

The closures are not expected to cause any problems.

"We have never had problems since the governor usually informs all the related institutions and airplane companies six months prior to Nyepi, therefore the companies have rearranged their schedules on that day," he said.

Head of the Bali chapter of the Association for Indonesian Tours and Travel (Asita) Wayan Alloysius Purwa said that the airline companies as well as travel agents had made adjustments to the policy.

"This is not the first time the Bali administration has implemented such policy so we already know that during Nyepi we are not allowed to fly to and from Bali. All airplane companies and travel agents have adjusted their schedules for the day," he told the Post.

Al Purwa said that he never had complaints from tourists because of the policy. "Instead most of the in-house foreign tourists consider this a new experience. Bali might be the only place in the world that stops all activity during Nyepi," he said.