If you are flying through Bali next Wednesday, emergency vehicles, security activity or a simulated incident at the airport may look serious — but the airport says it is an organised exercise, not a real emergency. The drill is designed to test how airport staff and partner agencies respond to several kinds of crisis while the airport keeps operating normally.
01 What is happening at Bali airport on 23 September?
PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia, the operator of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, is preparing a full-scale Airport Emergency Exercise (AEE) with the wider airport community and relevant stakeholders on Wednesday 23 September 2026.
The exercise is intended to be realistic. Airport management says it will be used to test personnel readiness, emergency procedures and the airport’s Airport Emergency Plan, as well as the way different units and agencies communicate, coordinate and command a response.
That realism is why the airport has issued an advance message to the public. Travellers may see activity that resembles a genuine emergency, but management says the exercise is planned and coordinated. People at the airport are being asked to remain calm and follow instructions from airport officers.
02 Will flights be cancelled or the airport close?
No airport closure has been announced for the exercise. Ngurah Rai management told ANTARA that flight operations will continue normally while the drill is under way.
That distinction matters. An emergency exercise can involve visible operational activity without meaning commercial aviation has stopped. Based on the airport’s current public statement, travellers should plan around their normal airline itinerary rather than treating 23 September as a shutdown day.
Normal operations do not guarantee that every individual flight will run exactly to schedule — airlines can change flights for many unrelated reasons — so passengers should still check their own booking and airline notifications before leaving for DPS. But there is currently no basis for assuming the AEE itself means flights are suspended.
03 The drill will test three emergency scenarios
Airport management has identified three scenarios for AEE 2026:
- Building Fire Exercise. A simulated building fire designed to test the response to a fire emergency within the airport environment.
- Airport Security Exercise. A simulated security disturbance intended to test how airport security and supporting agencies respond and coordinate.
- Aircraft Accident Exercise. A simulated aircraft accident designed to test emergency-response procedures for an aviation incident.
The scenarios are not predictions and they do not indicate that a real incident has occurred. They are controlled exercises intended to reveal weaknesses in procedures, communications or coordination before those systems are needed in a real emergency.
04 What passengers should do if they see the exercise
The airport’s message is straightforward: stay calm, do not panic and follow the instructions of airport personnel.
For travellers, a few practical steps should make the day easier:
- Keep following your airline’s real flight information. Use your airline app, official messages or airport departure information for your actual flight status.
- Do not assume sirens, emergency vehicles or security movement mean the airport has shut. The scheduled exercise is specifically designed to resemble emergency conditions.
- Follow staff directions in the terminal or airport precinct. The airport has asked users to cooperate with instructions during the exercise.
- Allow your normal sensible airport buffer. The airport has not announced a special passenger arrival time for the exercise, so there is no verified reason to invent one.
- If something genuinely appears wrong, rely on official instructions. A planned drill does not prevent a separate real-world issue from occurring, so airport and airline advice remains the authoritative guide.
05 Why Ngurah Rai runs full-scale emergency exercises
Airport Emergency Exercises are used to test more than the speed of an individual response team. Ngurah Rai says the 2026 exercise will examine the effectiveness of its emergency plan and procedures, the readiness of personnel, and the command, coordination and communication links between airport units and outside agencies.
That is important at Bali’s main international gateway because an airport emergency can require many different organisations to work together at once. A realistic exercise gives those teams a controlled opportunity to identify gaps in responsibilities, communications or procedure and then improve them.
Ngurah Rai General Manager Nugroho Jati said the exercise is part of the airport’s commitment to maintaining aviation and airport safety and security. The airport also says the activity is conducted periodically rather than being a response to a specific current threat.
06 Useful context for anyone flying through DPS
The announcement is particularly useful because Bali travellers have had several genuine aviation disruptions in 2026 from causes unrelated to this exercise, including volcanic activity and extreme weather. A visible emergency simulation can therefore be easy to misread if you encounter it without advance warning.
The key difference on 23 September is that the airport has publicly flagged the AEE in advance and has said normal flight operations will continue. If you see emergency-response activity that day, check the airport and your airline before drawing conclusions from what you can see in the terminal or from an unverified social-media post.
For arrival paperwork, ground transport and practical DPS information, see our Bali airport guide and getting to Bali guide.
07 What to check before you travel on 23 September
- Your airline’s current departure or arrival status.
- The correct terminal/check-in instructions supplied by your airline.
- Any official notices from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport or Angkasa Pura Indonesia.
- Your usual Bali airport arrival requirements if you are entering Indonesia.
- Transport time to or from DPS, especially if travelling through South Bali traffic.
There is no current airport notice telling passengers to cancel trips because of the drill. If airport management or airlines publish a material operational change before 23 September, that newer official information should take priority over this article.
08 Sources and verification
This report is based on the airport management statement reported by ANTARA on 16 September 2026 and the advance AEE briefing published by Bali Portal News on 15 September 2026. Both reports attribute the exercise details to Ngurah Rai Airport management.
Confirmed at publication: the full-scale exercise is scheduled for Wednesday 23 September 2026; the three stated scenarios are a building fire, an airport security disturbance and an aircraft accident; passengers are asked to remain calm and follow staff instructions; and airport management says normal flight operations will continue during the exercise.
