Timor Leste's Aero Dili eyes in-house A320 ops in mid-1Q23

Timor Leste's Aero Dili commences revenue A320 ops

Aero Dili (8G, Dili) has began revenue flights, using its sole A320-200 on a daily Dili - Denpasar - Dili rotation that commenced on May 12. That followed the aircraft flying Timor Leste's prime minister and other senior officials to Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, on May 9 to attend a regional inter-government summit.

As reported in ch-aviation, Aero Dili received its first Airbus aircraft, the country's only jet aircraft, in March. 4W-AAL (msn 3672) flew in on a two-year lease from DAE Capital, and since then, has been through a series of proving flights. The aircraft, which seats 165 passengers, carried 62 passengers on the inaugural revenue flight to Denpasar and 35 passengers on the return sector to Dili.

Aero Dili, which says it has plans to expand operations to Australia and Singapore, competes with Citilink (QG, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta), Sriwijaya Air (SJ, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta), and Batik Air (ID, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) on the Dili - Denpasar route. The carrier also becomes the only scheduled international...

US trade agency funds study into new Timor-Leste airline

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) will fund a feasibility study into establishing a scheduled passenger airline to service Timor-Leste’s isolated Oé-Cusse Ambeno exclave. The agency says it wants to improve air links within the country and boost its international air connectivity.

The Oé-Cusse Ambeno region is an 816 square-kilometre coastal exclave in the western part of the island of Timor and separated from the remainder of Timor-Leste by Indonesian territory. Oé-Cusse Ambeno's sole commercial airport, the grandly named Oe-Cussi International Airport, is serviced by one flight a day to Timor-Leste's capital, Dili. That flight is provided by the Canadian government in conjunction with Kenn Borek Air (KBA, Calgary) (MAF) using Twin Otter aircraft.

The USTDA has retained New York-based Alton Aviation Consultancy to undertake the feasibility study into the prospective airline, which it says is designed to link non-contiguous regions of Timor-Leste. It says the number of daily passengers using the existing MAF service is less than 20. The USTDA says a new airline could increase passenger and cargo traffic for Oé-Cusse Ambeno and...

Timor-Leste's first registered jet ferried in for Aero Dili

In a significant event for Timor-Leste, Aero Dili (8G, Dili) has ferried in the first ever commercial jet aircraft to be based in the country. The A320-200 will initially begin scheduled services between Dili's President Nicolau Lobato International Airport and Denpasar before venturing into other markets.

As previously reported by ch-aviation, Aero Dili has secured 4W-AAL (msn 3672) on a two-year lease from DAE Capital. The 14.42-year-old aircraft formerly flew for Bangkok Airways as HS-PPO and went into maintenance at Kuala Lumpur International in the fourth quarter of 2022 before ferrying to Bangkok Don Mueang and onto Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta earlier this month.

On March 20, bearing Aero Dili livery, the A320 flew into Dili. This followed Aero Dili securing its certificate of registration (COR) and certificate of airworthiness (COA) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Timor-Leste (AACTL) in mid-March. While undergoing maintenance, 4W-AAL was reconfigured to seat just 165 passengers.

"Aero Dili has successfully obtained its own Airbus A320 aircraft," President Director Lourenco de Oliveira said...

Timor Leste's Aero Dili acquires A320 for passenger ops