DILI (TOP) – Timorese company that provides air transportation services called Aero Dili for the first time has successfully carried out an international technical landing with a Timor aircraft at El Tari Kupang international airport, East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia.
The international technical landing is the first time in Timor-Leste's history because for almost the last 20 years there has never been a local plane from Timor-Leste that has made an international technical landing. Aero Dili is an airline from Timor-Leste that has made history for the first time.
There are not many airlines from Timor-Leste, so since 2002 until today, the government has always chartered planes from other countries. However, this time the local company Aero Dili, although only with a small Cesna (C207) aircraft, has succeeded in carrying out an international technical landing at El Tari Kupang international airport, Indonesia on Thursday 11 August 2022.
Aero Dili C207 aircraft took off from President Nicolau Lobato international airport, Comoro-Dili at 9:30 Timor-Leste time and arrived at El Tari Kupang international airport at 9:30 local time, then returned to Dili at 15:39. The time difference between Timor-Leste and Kupang is only one hour.
Aero Dili aircraft legally registered with the Timor-Leste flag, which so far only performs domestic flights from Dili to Oe-Kusi Ambeno, Suai (Kovalima) and Baucau.
"How do we try to bring our plane with the Timor flag to do an international technical landing, so we managed to arrive at Kupang's El Tari airport well,” Aero Dili's Executive Director, Lourenço de Oliveira told reporters in Dili after returning from Kupang's El Tari airport.
Lourenço explained that in carrying out this technical landing Aero Dili did not carry passengers but only brought one technical expert, one international instructor and Timorese pilot, so there were four people in Aero Dili from President Nicolau Lobato international airport to El Tari Kupang international airport.
With its success at Kupang's El Tari airport, according to the plan, Aero Dili aircraft will also do the same at several airports in Australia in the near future.
An international technical landing is a technical requirement, thus Aero Dili has done it because according to the plan, if one day Aero Dili has large commercial aircraft like Boeing, it will be able to fly to other airports in the world.
