
Flying to Sumbawa with long surfboards
A common question we get asked here at Surf West Sumbawa is about flying to West Sumbawa with long surfboards.
Below is a summary of information freely available to help you make the right decision about which boards to bring on your next surf trip to West Sumbawa and what you can expect to pay for bringing them.
The primary airline servicing Sumbawa at the moment is the Lion Air Group, which includes Lion Air, Wings Air and Batik Air. Below are the main points of their policies when flying with surfboards:
– Surfboards must be packaged neatly and safely in a surfboard bag, with a maximum weight of 23kg per surfboard bag.
– The length of board permitted is based on the type of aircraft, Jet engine or Propeller-type, so it is important to check the flight code for which aircraft you are traveling on to know if you can bring a mid-length or longer board.
– If you are flying on the Jet Type Aircraft (JT/ID) the maximum length is 230cm (about 7 feet 6 inches).
– If flying on the propeller-type aircraft (IW), the maximum length is 200cm (about 6 feet 6 inches).
– You will be charged a handling fee per surfboard (per surfboard not per bag). As recent as August 2023, this fee has increased to IDR 500,000 per board.
An alternative route that surfers can take to travel to West Sumbawa is to fly to Lombok airport, then drive by car to the ferry to West Sumbawa. Below are some of the domestic airlines that fly into Lombok and their requirements for traveling with surfboards.
Garuda Indonesia, the national carrier for Indonesia and by far the most generous when it comes to luggage allowance, includes an additional 23kg of baggage for sporting equipment such as surfboards. Garuda also allows surfboards up to 300cm (about 9 feet 10 inches) for most aircrafts, however similar to Lion Air there are differences depending on the type of aircraft flying that particular route. The CRJ1000 aircraft has a maximum length of 230cm (about 7 feet 6 inches) and the ATR aircraft has a maximum length of 160cm (about 5 feet 3 inches). Don’t worry if your surfboards exceed this limit though, because Garuda also operates an extensive cargo network to get your boards where they need to go, just make sure to contact Garuda beforehand to ensure the boards get there on time.
Citilink is a subsidiary of Garuda Indonesia and also flies into Lombok. The number and dimensions of surfboard allowed on the flight are dependent on the aircraft. On flights serviced by Airbus 320, a maximum of ten surfboards is permitted and the length cannot exceed 227cm (about 7 feet 5 inches). On flights serviced by an ATR 72-600, a maximum of two surfboards is permitted, with a length that cannot exceed 170cm (about 5 feet 7 inches). While Citilink tickets include 10kg of checked baggage this allowance does not include surfboards, which are charged an additional sports baggage fee based on weight of the sporting goods as per the table below.
Weight | Price Domestic | Price International |
0-5kg | IDR 111,000 | IDR 150,000 |
6-10kg | IDR 166,500 | IDR 200,000 |
11-15kg | IDR 222,000 | IDR 250,000 |
16-20kg | IDR 277,500 | IDR 300,000 |
21-25kg | IDR 333,000 | IDR 350,000 |
26-30kg | IDR 388,500 | IDR 400,000 |
Also keep in mind that there is an excess fee for weight over 30kg. For regular travelers, Citilink offers their Citisport program, which includes a free sporting baggage allowance, more details can be found on the Citilink website.
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