Domestic Airport Grief: Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali

Is it incompetence, disregard for the needs of guests to feel appreciated (even if they are domestic tourists) or total disrespect for fellow citizens/foreign residents? Considering the chaos which, unfortunately, has always been part of the Ngurah Rai experience and the fact that things have gotten worse exponentially, it seems we are seeing all of the above.

The new passenger drop-off area, without proper numbers of luggage carts (last May 20 there were none), the lack of porters, the lack of enforcement when it comes to orderly lines, waiting to get to the security checkpoints and the rudeness of travelers who feel entitled to cut in and push ahead of anybody who tries to follow rules, turn the farewell from the “Island of the Gods” into a “living hell”.

That domestic travelers, after the Bali bombings, have made a major contribution to Bali’s survival seems to be totally forgotten by the airport authority and whoever else is in charge of the mess at the domestic terminal. Cattle, being driven to the market, tend to be treated better than passengers waiting to fly home to Jakarta, Surabaya or any other domestic destination.

Visitors, from the capital or from any other major city in the country, are coming to Bali for a break and to escape the stress they face day in and day out. While their time on the island tends to deliver the temporary escape from big city stress, the departure chaos totally wipes out every bit of the rest and relaxation official tourism promotions associate with a Bali visit.

It might be less stressful for Jakartans to spend their weekends in the middle of Jl. Sudirman, rather than to suffer the indignities of the Bali departure process. Unfortunately, if the domestic tourist opted to stay away, it would be the average Balinese who would pay the price and not those people at the airport, who are paid, but fail to deliver any service.

Just a couple of afterthoughts:

Any argument that a “long weekend” might provide an excuse for the authorities to talk themselves out of the mess they are creating is wasted. Long weekends, no matter how packed with visitors, are well known in advance and can be planed for.