MotoGP Mandalika: Flying CGK to Lombok on 9–11 October? The Peak Days, the Extra Flights and the Circuit Shuttle
MotoGP Mandalika: Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October 2026. Extra traffic expected at Lombok from 5 to 15 October; the busiest days are Friday 9 and Monday 12 October.
CGK is operating normally and nothing has been announced that changes how it works that week. If you are flying to Lombok, book early and check your flight on the airline’s own app and on our live departures board before you leave for the airport. If you are flying anywhere else, expect at most a busier Friday.
If you are flying from Jakarta to Lombok for the MotoGP, the seats that will be hardest to get are on the Thursday and Friday before the race and on Sunday evening and Monday after it. Airlines have added flights, but in early September the provincial government said bookings were already close to full. If you are flying from CGK anywhere else that week, the race will barely register.
On Saturday 3 October 2026, InJourney Airports — the state operator of both Soekarno-Hatta and Lombok airports — named three airports as the gateways for the race: Zainuddin Abdul Madjid in Lombok as the main one, I Gusti Ngurah Rai in Bali as the alternative, and Soekarno-Hatta as what its chief executive, Mohammad R. Pahlevi, called the country’s main gateway and domestic hub, through which spectators from other Indonesian cities and from abroad connect to Lombok.
When Lombok will be busiest
InJourney Airports projects 98,670 passengers and 1,046 aircraft movements at Lombok’s airport between Monday 5 and Thursday 15 October 2026, according to ANTARA. These are the operator’s own forecasts. Its figures for the four peak days:
| Day | Projected passengers at Lombok | What is happening |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 9 Oct 2026 | about 8,600 | Practice |
| Sat 10 Oct 2026 | about 7,600 | Qualifying and sprint |
| Sun 11 Oct 2026 | about 9,300 | Race day; departures start |
| Mon 12 Oct 2026 | about 9,600 | Busiest day — spectators fly home |
The numbers count arrivals and departures together. Monday 12 October is busiest because it is when most spectators head home. InJourney did not give a separate projection for Soekarno-Hatta, and it did not say how many of these passengers will travel via Jakarta.
Which airlines are adding flights
InJourney did not name airlines. It said that since 22 September, airlines have added 66 movements for the race: 48 extra flights, 11 charters, 4 swaps to larger aircraft and 3 positioning flights.
West Nusa Tenggara’s transport office (Dinas Perhubungan NTB) has named airlines. On 17 September its head of land transport, Khaerus Sobri, said airlines had filed 47 extra flights to Lombok for 8–12 October, and called the list provisional. Plans the airlines described at a meeting with the governor, Lalu Muhamad Iqbal, on 8 September fill in some detail:
| Airline | What has been reported |
|---|---|
| Citilink | 18 extra flights filed for 8–12 October. Said it is adding seats on Jakarta–Lombok and Surabaya–Lombok. |
| Garuda Indonesia | 9 extra flights filed. Extra flights 8–11 October and adjusted capacity on 12 October; ANTARA Mataram reported an increase from two to three flights a day for 8–12 October. |
| Pelita Air | 10 extra flights filed. Flying twice a day from 8 October. |
| TransNusa | 10 extra flights filed. |
| Lion Air Group | No number given. Said it would add aircraft if demand called for it. |
The 66 and the 47 are different counts. InJourney’s covers a longer period and includes charters, aircraft swaps and empty positioning flights; the province’s counts only extra flights filed for five days, and was still incomplete. Do not add them together. Only Citilink has been reported as adding capacity specifically on Jakarta–Lombok; for the other airlines, the reports do not say which routes the extra flights are on. Internationally, Scoot (Singapore) and AirAsia (Kuala Lumpur) were also among the airlines the province said had applied for extra flights.
What that means for fares and seats
Nobody has published reliable fare figures for this year’s race, and we are not going to guess. What is on record is that when the governor met the airlines on 8 September, he said bookings for the race period were close to 90 percent, according to NTBSatu. That was before most of the extra flights were filed, but it was also a month ago.
- Book now if you have not. The extra flights add seats, but they are spread across several cities and several days.
- Look a day either side. Flying in on Wednesday 7 October or out on Tuesday 13 October is likely to be easier than the Thursday–Friday and Sunday–Monday peaks.
- Domestic economy fares have a government ceiling (tarif batas atas), so what usually happens at peak times is that the cheaper fare classes sell out, rather than prices rising without limit.
- Check the airline’s own site for the extra flights. Newly added flights do not always show up on travel apps straight away.
Flying via Bali instead
InJourney named Bali’s Ngurah Rai as the alternative gateway. From Bali, the onward options to Lombok are a short flight, a fast boat or the public ferry from Padangbai to Lembar. This can help when direct Jakarta–Lombok seats are gone, but it adds a connection and time, and the onward leg will be busy on the same days. If you are booking two separate tickets, leave a generous gap: if the first flight is late, the second airline does not have to wait.
From Lombok airport to the circuit
The Mandalika circuit is south of the airport, which is near Praya in Central Lombok. InJourney’s own visitor guide puts it at 17–20 km and 25–30 minutes by road on the airport–Mandalika bypass. A guide from the Lombok news site NTBSatu says 20–25 km and about 30 minutes. Either way it is a short trip in normal traffic, and on race days traffic will not be normal.
- Shuttle buses. The provincial transport office is running 42 buses with about 3,500 seats, up from 35 buses last year. They leave from the airport, the former Selaparang airport in Mataram, Bangsal, Senggigi and Lembar port. The reports we found did not give fares or timetables — check with the race organiser or your ticket provider before you travel.
- Park and ride. On race days, private cars park at set areas and spectators take a shuttle to the gates, so a taxi or rental car will not take you all the way to the circuit.
- Taxis and rental cars are available in the arrivals area at the airport.
- Staying on the Gili islands? For the first time, a night crossing between Bangsal and Gili Trawangan is planned for the race, according to the provincial transport office.
If you are flying out of CGK on another route that week
You are unlikely to notice. Soekarno-Hatta handled 13.48 million passengers in the first quarter of 2026 — roughly 150,000 a day. Lombok’s busiest projected day is about 9,600 passengers in total, and only some of them will travel through Jakarta. No CGK-specific measures, terminal changes or restrictions have been announced.
The most you should expect is longer queues at the check-in counters for Lombok flights on Thursday 8 and Friday 9 October, and the usual Friday-afternoon and Sunday-evening crowds. Allow your normal time to reach the airport; our ground transport page covers the airport train, which is not affected by road traffic.
What we do not know yet
- How many of the extra flights are on Jakarta–Lombok, apart from Citilink’s.
- Whether Lion Air Group, which includes Super Air Jet and Batik Air, has added flights since September.
- Shuttle bus fares and timetables from Lombok airport.
- How many MotoGP passengers InJourney expects to connect at CGK.
FAQ
When is MotoGP Mandalika 2026?
The Indonesian round of MotoGP runs from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October 2026 at the Mandalika circuit in Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. InJourney Airports expects extra air traffic at Lombok from Monday 5 to Thursday 15 October.
What are the busiest days to fly to and from Lombok?
According to InJourney Airports’ projection for Zainuddin Abdul Madjid Airport in Lombok, about 8,600 passengers on Friday 9 October, 7,600 on Saturday 10 October, 9,300 on race day, Sunday 11 October, and 9,600 on Monday 12 October — the busiest day, when spectators fly home. It projects 98,670 passengers and 1,046 aircraft movements at Lombok across 5–15 October.
Which airlines are adding flights to Lombok for MotoGP?
West Nusa Tenggara’s transport office said on 17 September that airlines had filed 47 extra flights for 8–12 October: Citilink 18, TransNusa 10, Pelita Air 10 and Garuda Indonesia 9, a list it called provisional. At an earlier meeting with the governor, Citilink said it was adding seats on Jakarta–Lombok and Surabaya–Lombok, Pelita Air said it would fly twice a day from 8 October, and Lion Air Group said it would add capacity if demand called for it. InJourney counts 66 extra movements since 22 September, including charters and larger aircraft. The two counts are measured differently and should not be added together.
How much are Jakarta–Lombok fares during MotoGP week?
No official or reliable fare figures have been published for this year’s race, so we are not quoting any. In early September, the West Nusa Tenggara governor said flight bookings for the race period were already close to 90 percent. Expect the cheapest fares to be gone on the flights into Lombok on 8–9 October and out on 11–12 October, and compare a day earlier or later before you book.
How do I get from Lombok airport to the Mandalika circuit?
The circuit is roughly 17–25 km south of the airport, about 25–40 minutes by road on the airport–Mandalika bypass in normal traffic; published guides give slightly different figures. The provincial transport office is running 42 shuttle buses with about 3,500 seats, from the airport, the former Selaparang airport, Bangsal, Senggigi and Lembar. On race days, park-and-ride applies near the circuit. Taxis and rental cars are available at the airport. Shuttle fares and timetables had not been published in the reports we found — check with the organiser before you travel.
I am flying out of CGK on another route that week. Will it affect me?
Probably very little. CGK handles roughly 150,000 passengers a day, and Lombok’s busiest projected MotoGP day is about 9,600 passengers in total, only part of them via Jakarta. No CGK-specific measures or restrictions have been announced. Expect busier check-in counters for Lombok flights around 8–9 October, and the usual Friday and Sunday-evening crowds.
See also
- Live departures and live arrivals — check your Lombok flight on the day.
- Airline punctuality at CGK — how often each airline leaves on time.
- Terminals & services — which terminal your airline uses, and where to wait.
- Ground transport — every way in and out of the airport.