Getting to and from Bali’s airport could eventually look very different. Badung Regency is working with PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia on a traffic redesign around I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport aimed at reducing the queues that build around Tuban and Kuta, particularly during busy flight periods.
01 What Badung is proposing around the airport
Badung Regent I Wayan Adi Arnawa said the traffic plan has been discussed with airport operator PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia, including senior airport management. Bali Post reported on 16 September that the design is still being revised, although the main direction of the traffic engineering is beginning to take shape.
The central idea is to keep vehicles moving instead of repeatedly stopping and crossing opposing traffic. In the current concept, the redesigned area would have no U-turns and no traffic lights, with traffic intended to flow continuously through the key airport approaches.
That is a proposal, not a live traffic rule. The consultant review is continuing and officials have not published a final engineering drawing or start date.
02 Tuban could become one-way, with a new relief boulevard
One of the biggest proposed changes is a one-way system through Tuban. Badung says the main connecting roads elsewhere would remain two-way, but the local road network around the airport would be engineered to reduce conflicting vehicle movements.
The plan also proposes using available land belonging to Desa Adat Kelan/Tuban on the northern side of the area for a boulevard or relief route. The goal is to create another path for traffic rather than forcing every airport-bound and airport-exiting vehicle through the same pressure points.
Badung has not yet published enough detail to tell drivers exactly which streets would become one-way or where every entry and exit would sit. Until a final plan is released, normal road signs and current traffic directions remain the ones to follow.
03 The airport–Kartika Plaza movement could change
The preliminary design also targets the busy connection between the airport and the Kartika Plaza area of Kuta. Under the concept described by the regent, vehicles leaving the airport would no longer be able to cut directly across toward Kartika Plaza, a movement officials say contributes to congestion.
Traffic from Kartika Plaza toward the airport would still be allowed, but through a specially managed flow. Vehicles travelling west from the direction of the Ngurah Rai statue would be channelled straight toward the airport rather than mixing with multiple crossing movements.
Badung is also considering road widening at selected critical points. The exact sections, land requirements and construction sequence have not yet been made public.
04 Why airport access is a priority
Road congestion around Ngurah Rai Airport has been a long-running problem because international arrivals, hotel transfers, local commuting and Kuta traffic all converge in a small area. Badung and airport authorities have been discussing broader access improvements for years, including public transport and longer-term rail proposals.
An official Badung Government accessibility forum in 2025 described airport congestion as a structural problem needing a broader solution rather than a fix at one junction. The new Tuban traffic concept is narrower than those long-term mass-transit plans, but it is aimed at the same immediate problem: making the airport gateway work more reliably for both residents and visitors.
The important distinction is that this road redesign is still being developed. It should not be confused with a completed traffic change or with a confirmed construction project already under way.
05 What airport travellers should do now
For now, nothing in the announcement changes the basic advice for getting to Ngurah Rai Airport. Use your normal route, follow live navigation and local road signs, and allow a sensible buffer for South Bali traffic — especially around busy arrival and departure periods.
- Do not rely on the proposed one-way plan yet. It has not been implemented.
- Check live traffic shortly before leaving. Airport access can change quickly after crashes, events, roadworks or peak flight banks.
- Give airport pickups the flight number. Delays in immigration or baggage collection can matter as much as road traffic.
- Allow extra time from Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Canggu. Short distances on the map do not always mean short transfer times.
- Watch for official notices before future trips. If the redesign is approved, lane directions and access points could change materially around Tuban.
06 What happens next
Badung says the latest input from its discussions with Angkasa Pura is going back to specialist transport consultants for further review before any official implementation. That means the next useful milestone is not another concept sketch — it is a confirmed final design, implementation schedule and public traffic-management notice.
We will update this page when those details are released. Until then, treat the no-U-turn, no-traffic-light and one-way Tuban elements as planned features of the emerging design, not as current driving instructions.
