Denpasar. Dozens of travelers, both foreign and domestic, left their cars and had to walk to the Ngurah Rai International Airport as traffic congestion peaked on Friday. The typically brief journey from Kuta to the airport, lasting only a few minutes, extended into hours.

Handy Heryudhitiawan, the airport's general manager, said that the influx of people in Bali could not be contained, especially at the airport, which serves as the main gateway for people from various countries.

"Due to the crowd, the effect is traffic jams everywhere," said Handy on Friday.

At 10:20 PM local time, the density of private vehicles peaked, causing gridlock, especially when exiting the main artery. Handy explained that around 5:00 PM local time, vehicle density became severe, even though the number of arriving airplane passengers on that day was less than last week. 

Around 65,000 passengers arrived at the airport, as compared to the peak of the passenger surge that occurred on Dec. 23, 2023, with 75,000 people, just before Christmas. 

I Ketut Adiputra Karang, the CEO of PT Jasamarga Bali Tol, said that the severe traffic jam on the Bali Toll Road was caused by an increase in vehicles from and to Ngurah Rai Airport.

The congestion occurred from Ngurah Rai International Airport through Bypass Ngurah Rai to the Dewa Ruci Statue in Denpasar, Bali. A viral video on social media showed a queue of vehicles stuck in traffic, with some prospective airplane passengers forced to walk to the airport.

"Many had to walk on the toll road because of the traffic jam heading to the airport. Bali is jammed. I was on a motorcycle and got stuck," wrote a user with the handle @__azza on the X platform, sharing photos of airplane passengers walking on the toll road, on Friday.

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