JAKARTA – Immigration system service at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali has operated normally on Saturday (22/2) at 04.00 a.m. local time after the hardware and firewall system of the immigration office damaged on Friday (21/2) afternoon.
It means I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport is ready to serve international tourist arrivals ahead of the summer holidays.
"Immigration services at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali have returned to normal since Saturday morning, February 22. Therefore, Bali’s airport is ready to serve the arrival of international tourists ahead of summer holidays," said Angkasa Pura Airports Vice President Corporate Secretary Handy Heryudhitiawan.
As the operator of the Bali’s airport, Angkasa Pura Airports received a report that the immigration service system went down at 10.30 a.m. local time on Friday. After coordinating with the Immigration Office, it was found the system disruption was caused by damaged Immigration Office's firewall system and hardware.
To keep the service running, the Immigration Office immediately made the decision to provide immigration services manually. As the result, there were build-up of queues of passengers who have just landed and prospective passengers who will board the plane.
To anticipate build-up of queues and to keep affected passengers receiving services, the management of Angkasa Pura Airports made several efforts, including distributing drinking water to passengers who had just landed and to passengers who were queuing at the immigration counter. The Customer Service, Guest Relations Officer (GRO) and Terminal Service Officer also provide explanation to both affected passengers and prospective passengers about the current situation. The air temperature at the International Arrival and Departure Terminals is monitored continuously to keep up with the standards.
At 05.00 p.m. local time on Friday, a temporary system repair was completed. Therefore, the immigration inspection service continued to using the system. The immigration service system repair was completed 100 percent on Saturday (22/02) at 04.00 a.m. local time and the inspection returns to normal.
In a written statement, Ministry of Law and Human Rights’ Bali Regional Office Head, Sutrisno, apologized for the incident. "For that reason, we apologize for the inconvenience to passengers coming from abroad and all parties, hopefully this will no longer happen in the future," he said.
Related to the incident, Angkasa Pura Airports management recorded there were 24 flights and 3,573 passengers of international arrival, as well as 15 flights and 2,193 passengers of international departure were affected, bringing the total of 39 international flights and 5,766 passengers affected.
"To anticipate similar incidents occurring in the future, we will further strengthen synergy and coordination with the Immigration Office, as well as with other airport community member agencies, in order to provide excellent and reliable services. In addition, we continually strive to provide the best service, both to airport service users, as well as to relevant stakeholders on duty at the airport, such as the Immigration, Customs Office, Quarantine Office, and other agencies,” Handy said.
