An Australian holidaymaker has highlighted a problem at Bali’s Denpasar airport which could cause travellers to miss their flights home.
In a recent TikTok video by model Dasha Daley, who emerged from a two-and-a-half week trip to Bali, she says leaving the airport was a “nightmare,” with people standing in line for two hours at customs.
“People are missing their flights… and there’s literally nothing you can do about it,” the Perth resident said, holding up her phone to show the gathered crowd.
The Indonesian holiday island introduced electronic passport scanners earlier this year, significantly speeding up the process for arrivals at immigration.
But upon departure, the old system is still used, which can lead to major delays.
In a separate video, Ms Daley said there are a few more things tourists need to do to skip the line upon arrival.
‘If you go to Bali, make sure you arrange your visa online and pay the tourist tax in advance. Because once you land, there will be a long line at immigration.’
For those who have done this, the process takes less than a minute. They simply scan their passport at the gate and walk in.
Dasha Daley (pictured) from Perth said she ran into trouble leaving Denpasar airport in Bali after a short holiday
She said there was a huge crowd waiting to get through immigration, with many fearing they would miss their flights (pictured)
The electronic gates are available for holders of an e-Visa on Arrival (e-VOA) and for travellers from ASEAN countries with an electronic passport.
A tourist tax of AUD 15 has also been introduced, which helps the government pay for public services and the maintenance of tourist attractions on the island.
The gates, which connect to international immigration databases, have been installed to ease the crowds, as the airport sees around 18,000 tourists arriving daily, rising to 36,000 during peak season.
Denpasar Airport has introduced e-gates for arrivals to speed up the process, but these are not available for travellers leaving the holiday island for other countries
Ms Daley said she had spoken to other travellers as they waited to depart Denpasar airport and that many of them were “super annoyed” at being late for their flight.
She said she narrowly missed her Jetstar flight but faced another problem during the flight when cabin crew controversially refused her complimentary water.
“If you buy a bottle of water at the departure hall and they take it away when you board the plane because it’s not allowed,” she said.
‘But then refuse to serve free water if you suffer from Bali belly. Should be illegal.’
Ms Daley explained that she had purchased the bottle of water after passing through the first security checkpoint, but that it had been confiscated just before she boarded.
She claimed that she asked the flight attendants for water twice during the flight but was refused both times, despite her stomach being upset.
Denpasar International Airport reportedly requires all travelers to dispose of liquids in containers larger than 100ml before boarding their flight.
