Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport

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Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport

Aeroporto Internacional
Presidente Nicolau Lobato
Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport terminal, 2018 (01).jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorEast Timor Civil Aviation Division
LocationDili, East Timor
Elevation AMSL25 ft / 8 m
Coordinates08°32′47.59″S 125°31′28.99″E / 8.5465528°S 125.5247194°E / -8.5465528; 125.5247194Coordinates: 08°32′47.59″S 125°31′28.99″E / 8.5465528°S 125.5247194°E / -8.5465528; 125.5247194
Map
DIL/WPDL is located in Dili
DIL/WPDL
DIL/WPDL
Location in Dili
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 1,800 5,906 Asphalt

Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport (IATA: DIL, ICAO: WPDL), formerly known as Comoro International Airport, is an international airport located in Dili, the capital of East Timor. The airport was renamed after Nicolau dos Reis Lobato, an East Timorese politician and national hero.

History[]

Historical picture of Dili airport.

Under Portuguese rule, Baucau Airport, which has a much longer runway, was used for international flights, but during Indonesian rule after 1975, it was placed under the control of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, and Dili airport, known as Comoro International Airport, became the territory's principal civilian airport. The airport was placed under the control of the Australian Defence Force during Operation Astute in May 2006.

Dili's airport runway has generally been unable to accommodate aircraft larger than the Airbus A319, Boeing 737-400, Boeing 737-900ER or C-130 Hercules, but in January 2008, the Portuguese charter airline EuroAtlantic Airways operated a direct flight from Lisbon using a Boeing 757, carrying 140 members of the Guarda Nacional Republicana.[1]

More recently during 2020, EuroAtlantic Airways operated flights between Lisbon and Dili using a Boeing 767-300ER, with refuelling stops in Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, to repatriate Portuguese and other European nationals.[2]

As part of a series of upgrades to the airport, East Timor took out a US$135 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to lengthen the runway, add new airside infrastructure and cinstruct a new ATC tower as well as a $44m grant from Japan for a new terminal building in 2021.[3][4]

Airlines and destinations[]

Passenger[]

AirlinesDestinations
Airnorth Darwin
Air Timor
operated by Druk Air 		Singapore[5]
Air Timor
operated by TransNusa 		Kupang
Citilink Denpasar/Bali
NAM Air Denpasar/Bali[6]
Qantas Sydney
Charter: Darwin
TransNusa Kupang

Statistics[]

Annual passenger traffic at DIL airport. See source Wikidata query.

See also[]

  • East Timor Civil Aviation Division

References[]

  1. ^ euroAtlantic lands at Dili airport transporting GNR
  2. ^ Boeing 767-300ER Da Euro Atlantic Aterra Pela Terceira Vez Este Ano Em Timor-Leste, NewsAvia, 13 December 2020
  3. ^ "ADB to offer $135m for airport expansion project in Timor-Leste". www.airport-technology.com. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  4. ^ "Japan grants USD 44 million for the Construction of Terminal Building of the Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  5. ^ Liu, Jim. "Druk Air begins East Timor service with Air Timor in NW19". Routesonline. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  6. ^ NAM Air Buka Rute Baru Denpasar-Dili, Bisnis Indonesia, 20 December 2015

External links[]


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