Russian Aeroflot has officially submitted a request for flight slots from Moscow to Denpasar, Indonesia, with operations anticipated to commence in September 2024. Confirmation from various official news sources indicates that Aeroflot’s intention to operate flights to Bali is awaiting approval from the Indonesian aviation regulatory authorities.
The application process prior to flight has been a collaborative initiative that includes Aeroflot, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Russian Ministry of Transport, the Indonesian Embassy in Moscow, and the Russia-Indonesia Business Council.
Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto was very enthusiastic about the potential launch of direct flights from Russia to Bali during his recent meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
“We are confident that Aeroflot can initiate direct flights to Bali… We also endorse the possibility of direct flights being operated by Aeroflot as well as other airlines,” stated Prabowo.
The long-running business project to establish direct flight connection between Moscow, Russia and Bali, Indonesia has faced obstacles due to international restrictions imposed on Russia and Aeroflot in 2022 over Russia’s full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The restrictions posed a risk of confiscation of foreign-manufactured aircraft in Aeroflot’s fleet. However, Russian officials claim that the “transfer” of aircraft from a foreign registry to a “Russian aircraft registry” has alleviated this concern.
According to Aeroflot, 185 out of the 271 Boeing and Airbus aircraft in its fleet have now been officially “cleared” of foreign registration.
