Lombok. The international airport on Lombok Island, West Nusa Tenggara, has received requests for extra flights from many airlines ahead of the MotoGP race at Mandalika Circuit this weekend.

Arif Haryanto, a spokesman for Zainuddin Abdul Madjid International Airport, said local airlines such as Garuda Indonesia, Citilink, AirAsia Indonesia, Batik Air, and Wings Air have requested permissions for more flights to Lombok from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1.

“We have received requests for at least 78 extra flights to Lombok, demonstrating growing public enthusiasm toward the MotoGP at Mandalika,” Arif said on Tuesday.

He estimated that the number of arrivals at the airport would increase by 23 percent without providing more details.

The airport has been operating 24 hours a day since last week to accommodate regular tourists, MotoGP enthusiasts, and cargo planes carrying MtotoGP logistics, he said.

Earlier in the afternoon, a Boeing 777 plane carrying 80 tons of MotoGP logistics arrived at the airport from Doha, Qatar.

Four more MotoGP cargo planes are scheduled to land at the airport on Wednesday and Thursday.