Bali reopens to Australians as Denpasar International Airport implements strict Covid controls
Bali is finally open to Aussies again after a long two years – but there are a few things you need to be ready for before jumping on a plane.
Bali is finally open to Australians again, two years after the coronavirus pandemic grounded flights to the popular island paradise.
Bali reopened to all foreign tourists last week but Jetstar became the first Australian airline to restart direct flights between the two destinations when the budget carrier took off from Melbourne on Monday with more than 300 passengers on board.
Dozens of friendly staff were ready to greet the flight when it landed at Denpasar International Airport yesterday, around 1.30pm local time.
After some cheerful festivities at the gate, all passengers were ferried to the arrivals hall – and that’s where the real fun began.
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Inside the soaring arrivals hall, once bustling with hundreds of tourists ready to explore Bali and locals ready to come home, the place had a distinctively different feel.
The Jetstar flight was one of only three landing at Denpasar on Monday, meaning we basically had the airport to ourselves when we landed.
Our first queue came almost immediately, when helpful staff ushered us towards a collection of business chairs lined up in a methodical grid across the arrivals hall.
We then proceeded to play what seemed to be the longest game of musical chairs, slowly making our way to the front of the queue where an immigration officer, sat at a desk behind a perspex screen checks your Bali e-Health certificate and your hotel booking.
You’re given the QR code for your Bali e-Health certificate from the official Bali app Peduli Lindungi, the app you need to download back home that requests your negative PCR result from Australia and your international vaccination certificate.
If you haven’t prepaid for a PCR test, you’ll need to pay for it at the airport, at a cost of IDR 275,000 ($A26.62).
The immigration officer prints you a little piece of paper with a QR code and tells you to move to the next queue.
The second queue, with the same musical chairs style, is to pay for your PCR test.
Once you’ve made it to the front of that queue, and after you show the worker your QR code slip, you’re printed a small sticker for your PCR swab tube and pointed to the third queue.
Immigration officers again ask you to scan your PCR QR code, also asking to see your negative PCR test from Australia, your proof of vaccination and your hotel booking for a second time.
You then walk to another person, who allocates you a nurse.
The nurse takes you into a small office, where your details are checked and the PCR swab is done.
Your adventure around the arrivals hall continues when the worker points at the arrows on the floor, leading you to the visa counter.
Bali brought back its visa on arrival system for Australians last week, meaning you can pay the (IDR 500,000) $A47 when you speak to the immigration officer.
After buying the visa, you make your way to one of the final queues – the passport check – where officers check your visa, get you to scan your customs declaration QR code, another form you fill out back in Australia, take your fingerprints and finally give you the long-awaited stamp so you can access Bali.
The process, all up, took longer than 90 minutes, meaning by the time you make it to baggage claim, your suitcase will be sitting off the carousel with security guards, ready to collect.
Your final stop comes at the baggage declaration desk but most people are waved through this section, into the non-declared lane.
Of course it’s barely been a week since Bali reopened to the world and these wait times are likely just teething problems.
The island is also taking their reopening carefully, with the requirement for a PCR test on arrival adding to the length of time in the airport and the numerous queues leaving people exhausted by the time they get outside.
Despite that, the system at Denpasar International Airport does run relatively well.
All the queues were kept moving, there were plenty of staff standing at each checkpoint meaning you never felt lost or unsure of where to go and the PCR testing was smooth and efficient.
My results were delivered to my email, which was linked to Bali’s health system when I filled out my e-Health card in the app, within two hours.
However, it remains to be seen how the airport will cope when more than three flights land in a single day.
Dozens of suitcases will likely be left for more than an hour at various carousels, something that hits close to home for Australians coming to Bali, and queues stretching longer when hundreds of passengers disembark.
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