Ni Komang Erviani, The Jakarta Post , Bali

Several check-in counters for domestic flights at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Badung, Bali, have been temporarily moved to the international terminal after fire broke out in the domestic terminal on Friday afternoon.

Passengers flying with Air Asia and Lion Air have been directed to Island E at the international departure terminal for check-in since Saturday.

The head of the airport’s communication and legal section, Arie Ahsanurrohim, said that counters 23 to 62 in the domestic terminal would be closed for the next 72 hours. It is predicted that all check-in counters would be reopened in the domestic terminal on April 22. Boarding gates 1 to 6 in the domestic terminal would operate as normal.

“All International check-ins for Air Asia will be relocated from Island E to Island A at the international departure terminal,” Arie added.

Domestic flight check-ins for Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air, Nam Air and Citilink remain in the domestic terminal at counters 1 to 22.

Friday’s fire had disrupted at least 19 flights before it was extinguished after 30 minutes by at least three Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) units and three pumper trucks of the Badung Fire Agency. No casualties were reported.

The fire started at 4:50 p.m. local time and was extinguished at about 5:20 p.m. The terminal was evacuated and all passengers remained safe.

There were four Lion Air, five Garuda Indonesia, two NAM Air, two Batik Air, one Wings Air, one Air Asia, three Citilink and one Sriwijaya Air flights disrupted. Some flights did depart on Friday night.

The fire did not affect the airport runaway.

While the police are still investigating the cause of the fire, it is expected that all activities and check-in counter arrangements would get back to normal by April 23.

(This story has been published at The Jakarta Post on April 20, 2019 )