As of September 2026, no seaplane flies to Gili Air, and no government body has named Gili Air as the first Gili island to receive service. What exists is a Central Lombok waterbase plan naming Gili Trawangan, a stalled permit process because Trawangan sits inside a conservation area, and a set of aviation-on-water rules that any operator must clear first. A realistic Gili Air timeline, if one happens at all, is 2027 for limited charter activity at the earliest, not a public timetable.
Why Is Gili Air Even Part of This Conversation?
The seaplane story for Lombok and the Gilis currently runs through one document: a memorandum of understanding between the NTB provincial government and PT Aman Air, reported on 28 February 2026. It covers a planned waterbase at Bendungan Batujai in Central Lombok, intended to support amphibious flights to five NTB island destinations. Gili Trawangan is named among those five. Gili Air is not singled out in the reporting available on this MoU.
Separately, NTB tourism news dated 27 December 2025 said seaplane flights linking Lombok’s international airport, BIZAM, to small islands were being prepared with an eye toward a 2026 start. That target has not materialized into scheduled public service as of this writing, and a 2026 preparation timeline does not automatically translate into a 2027 network across multiple islands.
So why does Gili Air surface in planning conversations at all? Because the same reporting on the Batujai MoU states plainly that take-off and landing permits for Gili Trawangan had not been issued, specifically because Trawangan is classified as a conservation area. That single detail matters more than it looks. A conservation designation is a defined regulatory hurdle, not a vague delay. If Trawangan’s approval is stuck on that specific issue, an island without the same conservation classification is, in principle, a faster administrative path — provided every other requirement is also met. Gili Air has a different land-use and tourism-development profile than Trawangan, which is why some planning discussion treats it as the more plausible early candidate. This is reasoned inference from the public record, not a confirmed decision, and no named source has stated a Gili Air launch date.
What Would Actually Have to Happen First?
Indonesia’s Ministerial Regulation on Water Aerodromes, issued in August 2025, sets the real bar. A seaplane operating on water is treated under shipping-sector rules, not just aviation rules. That means the operator must coordinate with coastal radio stations and vessel traffic services, and secure an operational coordination agreement with AirNav Indonesia alongside maritime authorities. The water aerodrome itself — wherever it sits — must be certified or formally registered before commercial flights can use it.
This lines up with how ICAO frames the aircraft type generally: a seaplane is a vessel while it’s on the water and an aircraft while it’s in the air, which is why two separate regulatory systems both apply to every landing and take-off. For Gili Air specifically, that means at minimum a registered or certified water aerodrome area, a coordination agreement covering the surrounding shipping lanes used by public boats and fast boats, and an operator holding the right commercial air-transport approvals. None of that has been reported as completed for Gili Air.
Families and couples researching the corridor today can already compare the fully operating alternative — public and fast boats — against what a future seaplane leg might add, through Gili Air seaplane transfers, which lays out the current transfer options serving the island.
What Could 2027 Operating Windows Actually Look Like?
If limited seaplane activity does reach Gili Air in 2027, the operating pattern is likely to be narrow rather than all-day, for reasons tied to both weather and the water-aerodrome rules above. A reasonable projection — and this is a projection, not an announced schedule — points to two windows: roughly 08:00–11:00 and 13:00–16:00, avoiding low-light water landings entirely. Indonesia’s dry season, May through September, offers better visibility for that kind of operation, though afternoon trade winds can still complicate the later window. The wet season, November through March, brings squalls and thunderstorms that would likely cancel both seaplane flights and fast boats on the same days, since the Lombok Strait already produces strong currents and wind-against-current chop during monsoon transitions.
The table below separates what’s confirmed, what’s optimistic, and what’s a longer-horizon possibility, so a booking decision isn’t made on the wrong scenario.
| Scenario (dated: as of Sep 2026, subject to change) | Earliest plausible timing | What it would mean for Gili Air | What a traveller should do now |
|---|---|---|---|
| No public launch | Beyond 2027, or indefinitely | Boats remain the only way to reach the island | Book boats as normal; treat any seaplane advertisement as unverified until it names a certified water aerodrome and an AirNav coordination agreement |
| Limited charter only | 2027 at the earliest | Small private or resort-arranged flights, no fixed timetable, weather-dependent | Ask any broker offering this for the operator’s air-transport approval and the water aerodrome’s registration status before paying anything |
| Scheduled network | 2028 or later, unconfirmed | A public timetable with morning and afternoon slots similar to today’s fast-boat departures | Hold off on paying for seaplane-specific packages; reserve accommodation flexibly instead |
What Should Travellers Actually Book Early?
Even with no confirmed launch date, two categories of planning make sense now, because they carry value regardless of whether seaplane service arrives in 2027, later, or not at all.
- Jetty-side or harbour-adjacent accommodation on Gili Air. A property near the main jetty area shortens the walk from any future landing point, and jetty-adjacent rooms are also the most convenient for today’s boat arrivals, so the booking isn’t wasted if seaplane access slips.
- Flexible-cancellation reservations rather than prepaid seaplane bundles. Until an operator publishes a certified water aerodrome location and an actual fare, any bundled “seaplane package” for Gili Air should be treated as unverifiable.
- Morning departure slots on existing fast boats. If a seaplane window does eventually mirror the 08:00–11:00 pattern described above, travellers already used to morning departures face less disruption adjusting their onward plans.
- A direct line to a coordination desk rather than a single boat operator. A broker tracking multiple transport options — boats today, seaplane if and when it’s real — can redirect a booking the moment the regulatory picture changes, instead of leaving a traveller committed to one operator’s claim.
What Are the Realistic Risks to This Timeline Slipping?
Three separate approvals have to land in sequence, and each has its own history of delay in this specific case. First, the water aerodrome at or near Gili Air would need certification or registration under the August 2025 regulation — a process that has already taken more than a year to clear for Gili Trawangan’s conservation-area status alone. Second, AirNav Indonesia and maritime traffic authorities need a signed coordination agreement covering the boat lanes Gili Air already depends on for its fast-boat and public-boat traffic; those same lanes carry meaningful daily passenger volume today, so coordination isn’t a formality. Third, an operator needs the commercial approvals to fly the route at all — and as of mid-2026, Santai Seaplane Indonesia is the only clearly commercial seaplane brand visible in Indonesian search results, with a Bali–Lombok charter offering, and it has no stated affiliation with any Gili Air waterbase plan.
Any one of those three pieces stalling pushes the timeline past 2027. None of them has a published completion date attached to it as of this writing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a 2027 seaplane launch to Gili Air confirmed by NTB or the Indonesian government?
No. The only confirmed document is the 28 February 2026 MoU between NTB and PT Aman Air for a Batujai waterbase serving five NTB islands, naming Gili Trawangan specifically. No source names Gili Air or a 2027 date; any 2027 window discussed here is a dated projection, not an official commitment.
Why would Gili Air get seaplane access before Gili Trawangan if Trawangan was named first in the MoU?
Because reporting on the MoU states Trawangan’s take-off and landing permits were held up specifically over its conservation-area status. Gili Air doesn’t carry that same designation, which is why some planning logic treats it as a faster administrative path — though no agency has stated this as a decision.
Should I cancel or avoid booking fast boats to Gili Air while waiting to see if seaplanes start?
No. Fast boats and public boats from Bangsal Harbour and Teluk Nare remain the only verified way to reach Gili Air in 2026, with public boats around IDR 15,000 and fast boats in the IDR 85,000–150,000 range. Keep booking normally and treat seaplane timing as unresolved.