Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport has confirmed that Emirates will be cancelling its daily service from Dubai aboard the double-decker Airbus A380 plane.
The news comes just as the Director General of Air Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, Lukman F Laisa, revealed plans to increase Bali’s capacity to receive up to 55 million passengers.
The launch of the daily Emirates Dubai-Denpasar service aboard the world’s largest commercial plane, the Airbus A380, was major news.
To this day, people still gather to watch the plane land and take off from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International.
Speaking to reporters, Communication and Legal Division Head of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Gede Eka Sandi Asmadi, explained, “It can be conveyed that currently Emirates airline is replacing the Airbus A380 aircraft type with a Boeing 777 to serve the Dubai – Denpasar route. The service is seeing a downgrade in capacity due to the low season and a drop in demand for the route.
Asmadi added, “Regarding the reasons or timeframe for temporarily changing the aircraft type, this is entirely at the discretion of the airline and can be confirmed directly with the airline.”
The news comes as Bali Airport works to build capacity and expand services, both domestically and internationally. In the big picture, there is an effort to establish Bali Airport as a global transit hub, on par with airports like Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. Just this month, AirAsia Indonesia announced that it will be increasing its international services out of Denpasar as of March 2026.
As of 10th March 2026, the popular low-cost airline Indonesia AirAsia will be launching a new direct service between Melbourne and Bali. With tickets starting at as little as AUD 199 and with Australian tourists the most frequent international arrivals to Bali, it is clear that demand for these tickets will be sustained in both the high and low seasons.
In a press statement, the Acting CEO of Indonesia AirAsia, Captain Achmad Sadikin Abdurachman, shared, “Bali remains a top destination for many Australians, captivating the hearts of travellers, young and old.”
“This strategic launch strengthens Indonesia AirAsia’s presence in Australia and opens a key gateway connecting Southeast Asia to southern Australia. The daily Melbourne–Denpasar route reflects our goal to provide greater, more affordable and flexible access between Indonesia and Australia.”
The first flights on the service start from the 10th March, and by the 20th of the month, the service will be operating daily. The Melbourne-Bali service will depart daily at 6 am, arriving in Bali at 9.35 am.
The return service will depart from Denpasar at 8.10 pm, landing in Melbourne at 5 am the following morning.
Although Emirates is changing its service level on the Dubai-Bali route, overall travel trends show that demand for travel to Bali continues to grow, even in the low season.
With this in mind, leaders have been sharing their grand visions for the future of Bali Airport and aviation in the province.
Earlier this week, the Director General of Air Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, Lukman F Laisa, spoke to reporters about expansion plans for I Gusti Ngurah Rai International that would help boost the terminal’s capacity to 32 million in the next couple of years, reaching 42 million soon after, and eventually 55 million passengers annually at maximum capacity.
For nearly a decade, the debate over whether it is more impactful to increase capacity at Ngurah Rai International or to build a second international airport in the north of the province has been a recurring topic in public and political discourse.
President Subianto Prabowo has confirmed that North Bali International Airport will be built during his term in office. With these latest updates from Director General Laisa, it is evident that a two-pronged approach is the focus at this time: both to expand capacity at Ngurah Rai and to ensure progress on North Bali International Airport.
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