EYEWITNESS NEWS – BADUNG
October 20, 2026
PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia (Persero) I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali has further strengthened its flight route connectivity with the inaugural flight of TransNusa connecting Bali (DPS) and Melbourne (MEL) round-trip.
Marked by the inaugural flight on Monday (Oct 19) night, Bali’s connectivity with Australia has grown even stronger, offering more travel options for passengers.
TransNusa’s Bali–Melbourne service operates under flight number 8B018, departing from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Monday (Oct 19) night at 20:33 WITA, carrying 139 passengers. Meanwhile, the return flight, operating under flight number 8B019, arrived back at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport on Tuesday (Oct 20) morning at 10:10 WITA with 86 passengers on board.
The Bali–Melbourne round-trip route operated by TransNusa is scheduled to run 7 times a week.
General Manager of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport Bali, Nugroho Jati, expressed his appreciation for the launch of TransNusa’s new Melbourne route.
“We congratulate TransNusa on the inaugural Bali–Melbourne round-trip flight. We see immense potential in this route to reinforce I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport’s position as Indonesia’s tourism hub, considering that Melbourne is among the top 5 international routes with the highest average passenger volume and load factor,” Nugroho Jati explained.
Currently, the Melbourne route is served by 7 airlines: Jetstar, Virgin Australia, Garuda Indonesia, Batik Air Malaysia, Qantas, Indonesia AirAsia, and TransNusa. The Melbourne route also expands TransNusa’s portfolio of international flights operating out of Bali, following Perth, Singapore, Guangzhou, and Phuket.
With Trans Nusa operating the Melbourne route, connectivity between Bali and Melbourne is enhanced, providing travelers with more choices to connect between the two destinations. “We hope the opening of this route will further facilitate inter-destination access and expand travel options to Australia for airport users, particularly in Bali,” added Nugroho Jati.
As of the end of September, I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport recorded services for 63 flight routes operated by 50 airlines, comprising 22 domestic routes and 41 international routes spanning 16 countries.
”The addition of airlines serving the Melbourne route from Bali is also expected to increase Australian tourist visits to Bali. By the end of September, Australian tourists ranked first in total visits to Bali, reaching 1.3 million travelers or accounting for up to 25% of total foreign tourist arrivals to Bali,” Nugroho Jati continued.
”We are committed to continuously providing heartfelt service to airport users, one of which is through the activation of new routes and increasing flight frequencies. We always coordinate with relevant stakeholders to enhance connectivity in Bali,” Nugroho Jati concluded.
Reporter: Daniel Herry
