Almost every visitor lands at one airport: I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, code DPS. This page is about the airport itself, meaning what it is called, how the arrival and departure routines work, and what to know before you rely on it. For flights and routes into Bali, see Getting to Bali, and for fares and drive times from the terminal to your base, see our Bali airport transfers page.
The name, the code and where it is
The airport is named after I Gusti Ngurah Rai, a Balinese national hero who was killed in 1946 in the Battle of Margarana. Its IATA code is DPS and its ICAO code is WADD. It is also called Denpasar International Airport and Bali Airport, so searches for any of those names lead to the same place. Do not confuse it with a second airport in Bali: it is the island’s only airport handling scheduled commercial flights.
It stands at Tuban, in Badung Regency, approximately 13 kilometres south of Denpasar city, on the narrow neck of land between Kuta and Jimbaran. That is why the southern beaches are so close and why the airport is sometimes called Kuta airport. The runway is shared with an Indonesian Air Force base. Seminyak, Canggu, Uluwatu, Sanur and Ubud all lie beyond the first beach towns, so see the transfers page for how far each one is.
International and domestic terminals
There are two terminal buildings. The international terminal handles every flight that leaves Indonesia, and the domestic terminal handles flights within the country, such as Jakarta or Yogyakarta. The domestic terminal is a separate building a short walk away.
One trap catches travellers on connecting tickets. If your final destination is overseas but your first flight is to Jakarta or Surabaya, you start on a domestic leg, and on a single ticket you will usually check in at the domestic terminal. Confirm the terminal on your booking before you leave your hotel. International and domestic arrivals use their own halls, so follow the signs for the right one.
Arriving step by step
This is the sequence on an international arrival, as described in 2026 guides. Most of the paperwork can be done on your phone before you board.
- Complete the All Indonesia form online. It replaced the paper arrival card and merges the immigration, customs and health declarations into one form. It launched at this airport in September 2025 and went nationwide the following month. When you submit, it gives you a QR code, so save a screenshot. Guides give a window of 72 hours before you arrive, and one says it can also be done on landing, so follow the wording on the official form. Our arrival card guide covers it step by step.
- Follow the international arrivals signs to immigration. With an e-VoA, a biometric passport and an age of six or over, you can use the self-service autogates. Children under six must use a staffed counter. If you need a visa on arrival, go to that counter first, pay, and then continue to immigration.
- Immigration check. The officer checks your visa and the QR code and may ask for a return ticket or hotel booking, then stamps your passport.
- Baggage claim. Take the escalator or lift down to the hall and find your carousel on the screens.
- Customs. Before you leave the restricted area an officer scans your All Indonesia QR code, and bags may go through an X-ray scanner. This is the electronic customs declaration, so there is no separate paper form to fill in.
- Arrivals hall. You come out into the public area.
The autogates were fully operational from October 2024. According to What’s New Indonesia, over four million travellers used them during 2024, about 57% of international arrivals, and the installation has 90 gates across the arrival and departure terminals. They are the fastest route, but only for people who arranged the e-VoA first. Our visa page covers who needs which visa and how to apply.
What is landside, after customs
Once you are through, the public arrivals area has SIM card counters, ATMs, money changers, taxi counters and the ride-hailing pickup points. Virgin Australia’s airport guide also places the taxi counters after customs on the arrivals level and outside the terminal.
If you want to use data straight away, a local SIM from a counter or an eSIM bought before you fly both work, and a data connection matters because you will need it for ride-hailing apps. Withdraw a modest amount of rupiah from an ATM and keep it for tips and small costs. Our money page covers cash and cards.
For the ride itself you have three choices: a driver you booked in advance who meets you in the hall, an official taxi from the counters, or a ride-hailing car from the app pickup point, which is outside the terminal rather than at the kerb. Prices and times are not repeated here, because the airport transfers page has them for every area.
Departures
Aim to be at the international terminal 3 hours before departure, a guide updated in September 2026 advises. That means leaving your accommodation earlier than you expect, and the same guide suggests being on the road at least 4 hours before departure if you are staying in Canggu, Ubud or Uluwatu. Airline rules differ. Virgin Australia, for instance, says its check-in counters open 2.5 hours before departure and close 60 minutes before, after which bags are not accepted.
The sequence is roughly this: a first security check at the entrance to the terminal, airline check-in and bag drop, emigration, then a second security screen before the gates. Drivers use the elevated departures ramp to reach the international departures level, and the drop-off is divided into airline rows. Passport validity matters on the way out as much as on the way in, so check the six-month rule before you travel.
Online check-in saves time if your airline offers it. Midday departures tend to have the shortest queues, and the morning and late afternoon are the busiest, so build in a buffer when your flight leaves at those times.
Flooding and the second airport plan
The flooding question has a specific, dated answer. Heavy rain flooded Denpasar from 9 September 2025. According to the airport’s communications and legal head, quoted by RRI on 12 September 2025, flights ran smoothly and none was cancelled, but some passengers arrived late because access roads were flooded. The disaster agency reported more than 120 flood points across the island. Roads to the airport were the weak spot, not the airfield. In the wet season, allow generous extra time, and do not book a tight connection on the same day as a long drive.
On a second airport, the position changed in July 2026. A long-discussed international airport at Kubutambahan in Buleleng is no longer being pursued, Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said, as reported on 20 July 2026. Instead, the Lt. Col. Wisnu airfield in Buleleng would be redeveloped as an alternative airport for private jets, logistics and emergency landings when Ngurah Rai is disrupted. He said there were no plans for another commercial airport comparable to Ngurah Rai. Until that changes, every commercial flight to Bali still lands in the south.