At Jakarta airport, Indonesia temporarily stops foreign tourist arrival

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

For the time being, Indonesia has stopped international tourists from entering the country through the airport of Jakarta, the transport ministry said, in a bid to get coronavirus infection cases sluggish, driven by the Omicron variant.

With more than 36,000 infections recorded on Sunday, the Southeast Asian country has witnessed a major rise in cases, and at hospitals, the bed occupancy rate in the capital of Jakarta reached 63%. Days after Bali welcomed the first international flight in almost two years carrying foreign visitors; the move to stop tourists flying to Jakarta comes in. The new regulations apply to foreign tourists and Indonesians who have travelled abroad for holidays, the ministry said in a statement released late on Sunday.

The decision to “temporarily restrict tourist arrivals” was implemented to slow down the virus spread, said Novie Riyanto, director general for civil aviation at the ministry. Still tourists flying from abroad will be able to arrive at Bali airport, as well as at Batam and Tanjung Pinang in the Riau Islands near Singapore. Also, in downtown Jakarta, police have introduced a curfew from midnight to 4 a.m. as infections have been climbing for some time now. Indonesian officials have warned that the rise in cases driven by the Omicron variant may not reach its peak until late February. In spite of these concerns, last Thursday, the resort island of Bali welcomed a flight from Tokyo that carried six foreigners, mostly travel agents who were on board to monitor the island’s readiness to receive foreign tourists.

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