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Departure time: Indonesia is interested in increasing the number of flights from Russia
Moscow and Jakarta maintain close contacts on the issue of tourism. Indonesia requested an increase in the number of direct flights, the Russian Embassy told Izvestia. By the end of 2025, the tourist flow from Russia to this country increased by 22%, and this season, according to ATOR, by another 20%. The numbers could have been higher, but now you can only get to Bali without a transfer and only on Aeroflot flights, although other Russian carriers also have permission to fly to the republic. What new routes from Russia to Indonesia may appear and who will serve them — in the Izvestia article.
Will there be more flights to Indonesia
Indonesia is one of the well—known and sought-after destinations for Russian tourists in Southeast Asia. First of all, of course, we are talking about the island of Bali. And the authorities of this country would like direct flights to the republic to be operated not only by Aeroflot, the Russian Embassy in Jakarta told Izvestia. According to diplomats, the Indonesian side has repeatedly raised this issue.
"The Indonesian side periodically expresses the wish that other Russian air carriers, along with Aeroflot, also fly here, but such decisions should be appropriate from a commercial point of view," the diplomatic mission said.
Izvestia also sent a request to the Embassy of the Republic in Moscow and the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation.
Currently, the only direct route between the two countries is Moscow – Denpasar. The resumption of flights in September 2024 was preceded by a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, at which the head of the republic personally supported the return of the Russian carrier to Bali.
Indonesia sees the expansion of the geography of flights as the next step. In particular, Jakarta is promoting the second key route, a direct connection to its capital. As the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, noted, this would stimulate the business agenda by activating trade missions, visits from investors and representatives of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). The minister first raised this idea at talks with First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov back in April 2025.
The Indonesian business is also interested in increasing the frequency of flights. As Didit Ratam, chairman of the Kadin profile committee, stated in July, three flights a week no longer reflect the real demand for the destination. He timed his address to the Innoprom-2026 exhibition, the partner country of which was Indonesia for the first time.
Who else can fly to Indonesia
The range of Russian airlines capable of starting operations in Indonesia is strictly limited by the characteristics of the existing fleet. For flights from Central Russia to Bali or Jakarta, a wide-body aircraft is needed, and there are very few such aircraft in the country, Dmitry Gorin, vice president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT), told Izvestia. He also noted that wide—body airliners are exclusively foreign-made equipment, the fleet is retiring by about 10% per year on average, and today there are clear opportunities for long-haul wide-body aircraft, in fact, only in the Aeroflot group.
Artur Muradian, ATOR's Vice President for Outbound Tourism, admitted that, under certain conditions, Nordwind and Azur Air, airlines that currently operate long-haul flights to Thailand, could join the route. According to him, these carriers have suitable planes, and technically anyone who has already flown to Thai resorts can fly to Indonesia.
An intermediate option is also possible — flights with a technical landing. Dmitry Gorin recalled that IrAero had previously operated flights even to the Philippines according to this scheme, with refueling at an intermediate point on the route.
However, according to the PCT expert, flights by Indonesian airlines may become a more realistic way to expand the program. Tanzania is an illustrative example: after a long discussion about launching direct flights from Russia, Air Tanzania, not a Russian carrier, flew with a frequency of three times a week.
So far, the largest Indonesian carriers — Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air and Batik Air — have not announced flights to Russia. One of the factors, as previously pointed out by Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergey Tolchenov, remains the risks of secondary Western sanctions.
The free trade agreement between the EAEU and Indonesia may be an argument in favor of the development of the network. The document was signed in December 2025 and ratified by Russia in May, but has not yet entered into force. According to the estimates of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the trade turnover with the republic may double in the next 3-5 years, and following the business flow, as a rule, the need for direct flights is growing.
In any case, the expansion of the program should be ensured by steady demand, Dmitry Gorin added. Connecting flights via the hubs of the Persian Gulf, primarily Dubai and Doha, are often cheaper than direct flights, and a significant part of the audience still flies this way. Against this background, the share of foreign airlines in the total volume of international traffic to Russia has increased significantly in recent years: if in 2019 it was about 25%, now it is about 47%.
Where do Russians fly, except Bali
The demand for the Indonesian destination may well become stable — it has been growing for the second year in a row, while the market is increasingly moving beyond the borders of one island. By the end of 2025, the tourist flow from Russia to Indonesia set a historical record — more than 219 thousand people, according to the data of the republic's main directorate of Immigration. The increase by 2024 was 21.5%.
In 2026, after a slight spring drawdown, the trend returned to growth. According to ATOR, sales of tours to the republic increased by about 20% year-on-year, and it is possible that by the end of the season, the destination will update the record.
As Maya Kotlyar, the head of the travel company MAYEL Travel, noted in a conversation with Izvestia, the demand of Russians for Indonesia has long been not limited to Bali. According to her, tourists are increasingly heading to the islands of Lombok, Gili, Flores and Komodo National Park. Indonesia is gradually opening up to the Russian market as a large independent destination, rather than as one resort island.
However, the vast majority of tourists still prefer Bali. According to Artur Muradian, Indonesia cannot yet offer a massive beach product outside of this island, and Jakarta is more interesting for business tourism. According to him, the frequency of flights to Bali can be steadily increased, while flights to the Indonesian capital are primarily interesting for businessmen.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
