Aero Dili
Aero Dili logo
IATA ICAO Callsign
8G DTL AERO DILI
Founded3 July 2017 (2017-07-03)
Commenced operations30 August 2018 (2018-08-30)
HubsPresidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport
Focus cities
Fleet size2
Destinations4
Traded asAero Dili Service Transport, Unipessoal, LDA
HeadquartersTimor Plaza, CBD2, Dili, East Timor
Key peopleLourenço de Oliveira; Dexter Leopard; Hilman Zaidan
Employees120
Websitewww.aerodili.com
Notes

Aero Dili is an airline based in East Timor. It has its hub at the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, and uses a fleet of three aircraft to operate both domestic and international services.

History

Aero Dili was founded on 3 July 2017[1] by Lourenço de Oliveira, a native of Atauro.[5][6] De Oliveira has a background in maritime transport;[6][7] he has since been the owner of Dili's two casinos, and has made investments in other industries, including aquaculture and agriculture.[8][9]

Before deciding to invest in East Timor's aviation industry, an initiative he later described as "... a dream come true," the founder had also studied aviation processes in other countries for twenty years.[5]

The airline's first income-earning activity, under a memorandum of understanding with the government made in January 2018, was to acquire and make available to the Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) a Cessna 172P aircraft, together with pilots to fly it. The aircraft arrived in East Timor in February 2018, and was put to work patrolling the Timor Sea.[10]

Later that year, Aero Dili was the first airline in East Timor to be granted an air operator's certificate (AOC) to conduct civil domestic services.[3] It commenced civil operations on 30 August 2018.[1]

Initially, the airline used a small fleet of Cessna light aircraft to operate its civil aviation services.[5]

On 20 February 2019, an Aero Dili Cessna 172 crashed at Pilila in Liquiçá Municipality while operating a domestic service. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair, but its occupants were not injured.[11][12]

Subsequently, Aero Dili also provided air services as a virtual international carrier, by chartering aircraft wet leased from Indonesia AirAsia and Sriwijaya Air.[9][13]

On 11 August 2022, the airline successfully carried out an experimental international technical landing, using its Cessna 207 aircraft, at El Tari Airport in Kupang, Indonesia.[2][7] It was the first ever international flight by an East Timor registered aircraft.[7]

Aero Dili then announced, at a press conference held on 9 December 2022, that it intended to start international operations of its own in 2023, using an aircraft leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, with a second leased aircraft to join the fleet after six months, and a third one in two and a half years.[14] These plans represented an investment of US$10 million.[9]

The airline also procured the necessary certificate of registration (COR) and certificate of airworthiness (COA) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Timor-Leste (AACTL) in mid-March 2023.[7][13][15]

Aero Dili had previously negotiated with several leasing companies over the leasing of aircraft. The first two negotiations had not been able to go ahead, because the prospective lessors had been concerned about the weaknesses of East Timor's aviation system and its legislative framework.[8][9]

The first of Aero Dili's leased aircraft, an Airbus A320 previously operated by Bangkok Airways, and reconfigured to carry only 165 passengers, arrived in Dili on 20 March 2023.[7][13][15] Upon arrival, it became the first commercial jet aircraft to be based in East Timor.[7] It was also the main attraction at an official launch of the airline's international services, featuring speeches by the President of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, and the country's Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agustinho da Silva, who had been one of the 17 passengers on board the flight.[5][6][7][16]

On 12 May 2023, the A320 operated Aero Dili's first scheduled international flights, between Dili and Denpasar/Bali, Indonesia.[17]

Corporate affairs

The airline is owned by Aero Dili Transport Services S.A.[1] Its Executive Director is Lourenço de Oliveira.[14]

Destinations

Country City Airport Notes
IndonesiaDenpasarNgurah Rai International Airport
Timor LesteDiliPresidente Nicolau Lobato International AirportHub
BaucauBaucau Airport
SuaiSuai Airport
OecusseOecusse Airport

Fleet

Aero Dili's first Airbus A320 arrives in Dili on 20 March 2023

As of March 2023, the Aero Dili fleet consists of the following aircraft:[13][18][19]

Aero Dili fleet
Aircraft In fleet Orders Historic Capacity Notes
Airbus A320-232 1 1 162 [13][19]
Cessna 207T 1 0 7 [13][18]
Cessna Grand Caravan 208B 0 1
Total 2 2 -

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Aero Dili". www.avcodes.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 Oki, Raimundos (12 August 2022). "Timor-Leste commercial aircraft Aero Dili successfully made its first international technical landing at El Tari Kupang". The Oekusi Post. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Aero Dili Airline Profile". CAPA Centre for Aviation. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Aero Dili". Timor Plaza. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Tatoli team (20 March 2023). "Companhia aérea timorense realiza primeiro voo internacional com aeronave própria" [Timorese airline performs first international flight with its own aircraft] (in Portuguese). Tatoli. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 de Sá, José Belarmino (20 March 2023). "President Horta officially launch Timor-Leste's first airbus AERO DILI A- 320". Tatoli. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Timor-Leste's first registered jet ferried in for Aero Dili". ch-aviation. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Primeiro avião 'timorense' começa a operar em 2023 em várias rotas -- empresário" [First 'Timorese' plane starts operating in 2023 on several routes -- businessman]. SAPO24 (in Portuguese). Lusa. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Aero Díli espera que voo inaugural do primeiro avião timorense ocorra em fevereiro" [Aero Dili expects the maiden flight of the first Timorese plane to take place in February]. RTP Notícias (in Portuguese). Lusa. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  10. ↑ Soares, Celestina (22 January 2018). "Kompania Dili Aero Sosa Aviaun Ida Ba F-FDTL" [Dili Aero Company purchases a F-FDTL aircraft]. The Dili Weekly (in Tetum). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  11. ↑ Freitas, Xisto (20 February 2019). "Pilotu: Aviaun Monu Tanba Vintuña Nakadoko Maka'as" [Pilot: The plane crashed because of the Nakadoko Macauas wind]. Tatoli. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  12. ↑ Amado, Tome (22 February 2019). "Aviaun 'Monu' iha Likisa, Pilotu: "Problema iha Ventuña"" [A plane crashed in Liquica, Pilot: "The problem was the wind"]. Jornal Independente, Timor-Leste (in Tetum). Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bailey, Aaron (23 March 2023). "Aero Dili Receives Timor Leste's First Commercial Aicraft [sic]: An Airbus A320". Simple Flying. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  14. 1 2 Fatima, Cidalia (8 December 2022). "Aero Dili to begin its operation in January 2023". Tatoli. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  15. 1 2 "Timor-Leste's first registered jet ferried in for Aero Dili". Flyingphotos Magazine News (in European Portuguese). 23 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "Timor-Leste celebrates the arrival of the first Timorese-flagged aircraft". Government of Timor-Leste. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  17. ↑ Bailey, Aaron (13 May 2023). "East Timor's Aero Dili Launches Flights To Denpasar". Simple Flying. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Fleet". Aero Dili. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  19. 1 2 "Aero Dili Fleet Details & History". Planespotters.net. Retrieved 24 March 2023.

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