DILI, 9 december 2022 (TATOLI)- Executive Director of Aero Dili, Lourenço de Oliveira, said that his company will expand its wings to compete internationally in the provision of flight services in 2023.
“Maybe in January I will take a plane to start an international route. This is to show that we can also prepare our flights,” said Lourenço de Oliveira at Dili’s Nicolau Lobato International Airport, this Friday.
He said the operation of the flight in the mid-of january Oliveira said, Aero Dili has prepared three pilots along with flight attendant staff, technicians and others specially brought in from Indonesia, South Korea, and Europe.
It has not yet been confirmed which country will become the main flight route, but it is confirmed that it will start in a country that has had an Air Service Agreement (ASA) with Timor-Leste so far.
“The plane is currently in Malaysia for an inspection after which it will fly to Thailand to replace the engine, maybe in mid-January 2023 it will arrive in Timor-Leste,” he explained.
Aero Dili has also planned to add one more aircraft within the next six months and one more will be added in two and a half years, so it is surely that Aero Dili will have three aircraft for international flights.
The planes are aircraft managed by Lessor Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) with can accommodate up to 180 people however Oliveira said he only plans to provide 165 seats for each flight to ensure the comfort of the passengers.
Concerning the price of the tickets, Oliveira also added that the price will be followed by the standard price and market in Timor-Leste.
Aero Dili is a charter airline from Timor-Leste. This airline started operations on August 30, 2018. This airline has a fleet of one Cessna 207 aircraft and one Cessna 172 aircraft.
“I have been operating domestic flights for five years and now I want to reach the international scene. The Sriwijaya and AirAsia planes are the planes I charter to fly,” he said.
Aero Dili is the first airline in Timor-Leste to be awarded an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) by the Civil Aviation Authority of Timor-Leste (AACTL) for domestic operating flights.
Journalist: Cidalia Fatima
Editor: Armandina Moniz
Translation: Camilo de Sousa
