Denpasar, Bali. I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport reported a solid performance in 2024, handling 23.9 million passengers, a 12 percent increase from 21.4 million in 2023. General Manager Ahmad Syaugi Shahab said that this year's passenger and flight traffic were the highest in three years, exceeding the initial target of 23.6 million passengers.

"On average, we served over 65,000 passengers daily, both arriving and departing," Syaugi told reporters on Wednesday.

International passengers grew by 22 percent to reach 14.1 million, compared to 11.5 million in 2023. In contrast, domestic passengers numbered 9.8 million, slightly lower than the previous year's total of 9.9 million.

"We look forward to handling 26.4 million passengers in 2025,” he added.

Among international routes, Singapore emerged as the busiest destination, with 2.7 million passengers, followed by Kuala Lumpur with 1.8 million and Perth with 1 million. Domestically, Jakarta led with 4.8 million passengers, followed by Surabaya with 1.4 million, and Makassar with 522,000.

The busiest months for passenger traffic were July and August, coinciding with the European and American summer holidays and Indonesia’s school break.

Flight traffic also saw an increase, rising by 4 percent to 142,169 movements, compared to 136,508 in 2023. International flights dominated with 72,583 movements, while domestic flights accounted for 69,586.

The top international routes by flight frequency were Singapore (13,000 movements), Kuala Lumpur (11,000), and Perth (7,000). Domestically, Jakarta recorded the highest with 30,000 movements, followed by Surabaya with 8,800 and Lombok with 4,000.

Cargo services also saw significant growth, surging by 57 percent from 64,000 tons in 2023 to 100,000 tons in 2024. The busiest domestic cargo route was Jakarta with 18,000 tons, while the highest international cargo traffic was from Hong Kong with 7,700 tons.

Syaugi added that the addition of 15 new routes, both domestic and international, in 2024, reinforce Bali’s position as a key player in the aviation market.