City repatriation guide
Repatriation from Labuan Bajo, Indonesia
Specific guidance for arranging repatriation from Labuan Bajo. Local documentation contacts, airport cargo routes, and the typical process for cases originating in this area.
Labuan Bajo, on the western tip of Flores island, is the gateway to Komodo National Park — home to the Komodo dragon and world-class dive sites on the Komodo and Rinca reefs. British divers and liveaboard passengers make up a significant share of the international visitor profile. The town itself is small and infrastructure is limited. Flores is a long island (360km end to end) in East Nusa Tenggara (Nusa Tenggara Timur, NTT) province. Deaths here involve some of the most logistically complex repatriation scenarios in Southeast Asia: a remote town, minimal forensic capacity on the island, a provincial administration that handles a relatively low volume of international cases, and multi-hop cargo routing with no direct international service.
What the British Embassy does — and does not do
The British Embassy Jakarta (Jalan M.H. Thamrin Kav. 75, Jakarta 10310) covers all of Indonesia including NTT and Flores. There is no resident British consul in Labuan Bajo or in Kupang (the NTT provincial capital).
The Embassy can: Register the death in UK consular records. Advise on Indonesian documentation requirements. Provide a funeral director referral list.
The Embassy cannot: Repatriate the body. Pay any costs. Instruct Indonesian or NTT authorities.
FCDO 24-hour emergency line: +44 (0)20 7008 5000.
What Indonesian and NTT law requires
Under the Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana (KUHAP, Law No. 8 of 1981), sudden or unexplained deaths are reported to the Kepolisian Resor (Polres) Manggarai Barat (covering Labuan Bajo) and referred to the NTT Prosecutor (Kejaksaan Tinggi NTT, Kupang) where investigation is required. Post-mortems are conducted at RSUD Ben Mboi Labuan Bajo (the district hospital) for basic examination, but specialist forensic pathology capacity does not exist in Labuan Bajo. Complex forensic cases are referred to Kupang (RSUD W.Z. Johannes, NTT provincial capital, approximately 900km by road or a 1.5-hour flight from Labuan Bajo).
Death certificates (Akta Kematian) are issued by the Disdukcapil Manggarai Barat, Labuan Bajo.
The documentation chain
1. Akta Kematian (death certificate). Issued by Disdukcapil Manggarai Barat.
2. Police release or Visum et Repertum (where applicable in forensic cases).
3. International transport permit. Applied for via Dinas Kesehatan NTT, under Kementerian Kesehatan authority in Jakarta.
4. Embalming certificate.
5. IATA cargo documentation — covering LBJ to DPS (Bali) or LBJ to CGK (Jakarta) domestic legs plus the international leg.
Source: Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana (KUHAP), Law No. 8 of 1981 (Indonesia); Kementerian Kesehatan Indonesia, Pedoman Penanganan Jenazah, 2020.
Airport and cargo routing
Komodo Airport (LBJ), Labuan Bajo, handles regional domestic services only. Standard routing: LBJ to Bali (DPS, approximately 1 hour on Garuda, Lion Air, or TransNusa) then DPS to Singapore (SIN) or to Jakarta (CGK) for the international leg. The LBJ-DPS-SIN-LHR chain is the most common for British repatriations. The funeral director manages cargo across multiple domestic and international legs. For Komodo Island deaths — on the island itself, during liveaboard trips — the body must be transferred to Labuan Bajo by boat before any of the above begins.
Timeline from Labuan Bajo
- Hospital-certified natural death: 14 to 21 days
- Forensic transfer to Kupang: adds 3 to 7 days
- Police or prosecutor investigation: 21 to 35 days
Key local considerations
Liveaboard diving deaths in Komodo waters — decompression sickness, drowning, boat accidents — are a specific category. The vessel’s flag and position at the time of death can affect which authority takes initial jurisdiction. Indonesian coast guard (Basarnas) is typically the first responder for maritime incidents in Komodo waters. The Komodo National Park authority is also involved in incidents occurring within park boundaries.
For the full repatriation process from Indonesia, see our Indonesia repatriation guide.
Contact our team via our enquiry form or WhatsApp.
Information based on Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Acara Pidana (KUHAP) and Kementerian Kesehatan Indonesia. Last reviewed May 2026.
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