The United States lifted a security warning against
the airport on Indonesia's Bali island on Thursday two years after it was issued
following a string of bombings on the resort island.
The decision came
ahead of U.N. climate talks in December when delegates from 189 countries will
gather in Bali to discuss a pact to slow down global warming.
In 2005,
U.S. homeland security declared the airport in Denpasar unsafe and discouraged
U.S. planes from flying directly to the island, following the attacks in 2002
and 2005 that killed over 200 people.
The decision to lift the warning
was based on an assessment by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration
that found security measures at the airport complied with International Civil
Aviation Organisation standards, a U.S. official said.
"This is very good
news for Indonesia as it prepares to host the United Nations COP-13 Climate
Change Conference in Bali this December," U.S. Charge d'Affaires John Heffern
said in a statement.
Indonesia's aviation chief, Budhi Mulyawan Suyitno,
said he hoped the decision would bring more tourists to Bali.
Tourism in
Bali suffered a massive blow after the bomb attacks, but has started recovering
in recent months.
