Gloomy parking lot in Bali: 100 vehicles await their owners

Several parked two-wheelers have been left abandoned for years at the parking zone of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. It's estimated that about a hundred of these vehicles are just gathering dust. Some of them have been there for seven years while their metal bodies turn to rust. In light of this, the parking lot managers are urging the owners to claim their unattended bikes.

It bewilders various Indonesian portals that a sizable number of motorbike owners can just up and leave their vehicles at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport parking lot without ever returning. According to the site managers, over a hundred bikes have been abandoned over the years.

The record for the longest-staying vehicle belongs to a motorcyclist who parked their bike on July 5th, 2016, and has not been seen since. The parking fee for this vehicle alone has accumulated to an outstanding 74 million IDR (approximately 4777 USD).

Iwan Novi, the acting Director-General at Angkasa Pura I, the company that oversees the airport's parking lot, explains that not all the abandoned automobiles are motorcycles. Among the hundred or so deserted vehicles are also three cars. - "We can't just discard them as they legally belong to someone," he expressed with concern.

The parking company is making concerted efforts to locate the owners of the vehicles. - "We have been working with the relevant authorities, including the prosecutor's office in Bali, to trace those, who abandoned these two-wheelers and cars," added Iwan.

He urged vehicle owners who suspect they might have left their property at Ngurah Rai airport to reach out to the parking company at their earliest convenience. The company is running out of parking space, and their cooperation will be highly beneficial.

- "We are optimistic that this message will reach the community. We believe this news can motivate vehicle owners to take initiative, retrieve their vehicles, and avoid accumulating any more parking fees," state Iwan.

The daily rate for parking a motorcycle overnight at Ngurah Rai airport was 16 thousand IDR (around 1 dollar) in 2016. Beginning in 2021, the rate rose to 1.81 dollars per day.

The parking lot authority had begun collaborating with the Bali police. Whenever a report regarding a missing vehicle is registered, the officers immediately verify it against the list of abandoned property in the parking lot.

Nonetheless, it's unclear how many owners will step forward to claim their forsaken vehicles. The reason being that, to regain their properties, the owners are required to clear their outstanding debts which, in most cases, are greater than the value of the vehicles themselves.