Indonesia, July 14 -- Several airlines have submitted requests to operate extra flights for the 8th National Community Sports Festival (Fornas VIII), scheduled to take place from July 26 to August 1 in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Acting NTB Regional Secretary Lalu Moh Faozal said the requests for additional flight slots reflect the surge in bookings by festival participants.

"Based on traffic at four airports, there's a noticeable increase in passenger numbers heading to NTB between July 23 and 25 from routes such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Makassar," he said at a press conference on Monday.

Among the airlines, Garuda Indonesia has applied to add flights on the Jakarta-Lombok route, Citilink on the Surabaya-Lombok route,...