Those sweet, nourishing Bintangs just got a hell of a lot harder to acquire, pals. Low-cost carrier Tiger Airways has announced they’re permanently cancelling all flights to and from Bali.
Tigerair Australia confirmed they will no longer be flying in to Denpasar, after failing to gain regulatory approval from the Indonesian government to operate out of the airport.
Indonesian authorities today stated they would not be providing the airline with “final approval,” and that an alternative regulatory solution would need to be sought. However, such a solution would reportedly take around 6-months to source, which would compromise the airline’s ability to operate as a low-cost carrier.
As a result, the airline has confirmed it will be pulling out of the Australia – Bali route altogether, with all planned flights in the near future cancelled. Tigerair confirmed that customers who had booked travel to Bali with the airline will be receiving full refunds.
Airline CEO Rob Sharp issued a statement a short while ago, asserting that any travellers stranded in Bali by today’s decision will have the full support of the airline, and that Tiger’s parent company Virgin Australia will be assisting them to make alternative travel arrangements.
“We have been advised by Indonesian authorities that in order to continue operating our flights to Bali, we would have to transfer to a new operating model that would take at least six months to implement and would compromise our ability to offer low-cost airfares to Australians.”
“Providing a reliable, low-cost service is critical for Tigerair Australia and our customers, and therefore our only option is to withdraw from flying to Bali altogether. We will continue to work with Virgin Australia to support any passengers still in Bali and needing to travel home to Australia. We will also provide full refunds to customers who were booked to travel to and from Bali with us.”“Again, we sincerely apologise to our customers who have been caught up in this and we will continue to work around the clock to support them as best we can.”
The airline had previously asserted that regular operation to and from Bali would recommence today, however a statement posted last night reneged on that, sending the airline’s call centre into meltdown as customers attempted to gain information about their flights.
Tigerair’s Australian domestic operations are not affected by today’s decision.
Source: 9News.com.au.
Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty.
