Suai Airport

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Suai Airport
Commander in Chief of FALINTIL,
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão,
International Airport

Aeroporto Internacional
Comandante-Chefe das FALINTIL,
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão  (Portuguese)

Aeroportu Internasionál
Komandante Xefe FALINTIL,
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão  (Tetum)
2020-08-02 Antonino Armindo am Flughafen Suai.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorGovernment of East Timor
ServesSuai, Cova Lima, East Timor
Location [de], Suai
Time zoneTLT (+09:00)
Elevation AMSL96 ft / 29 m
Coordinates09°18′14″S 125°17′13″E / 9.30389°S 125.28694°E / -9.30389; 125.28694Coordinates: 09°18′14″S 125°17′13″E / 9.30389°S 125.28694°E / -9.30389; 125.28694
Map
Location of airport in East Timor##Location of airport in Timor
Location of airport in East Timor##Location of airport in Timor
UAI/WPDB
Location of airport in East Timor
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16/34 1,500 4,921 Asphalt
Sources: AIP Timor-Leste,[1]DAFIF,[2][3]WFP[4]

Suai Airport (IATA: UAI, ICAO: WPDB), officially Commander in Chief of FALINTIL, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional Comandante-Chefe das FALINTIL, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, Tetum: Aeroportu Internasionál Komandante Xefe FALINTIL, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão), and also known as Covalima Airport, is an airport serving Suai, in Cova Lima Municipality, East Timor.[5][6][7][8]

Location[]

The airport is located 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Suai,[1][2][3] in the southwestern corner of the suco of  [de], which is part of the Suai administrative post.[9] The airport's runway (16/34) is oriented broadly north-south.[1][4]

History[]

As of 1974 and 1975, Transportes Aéreos de Timor (TAT), the national airline of the then Portuguese Timor, was operating scheduled domestic services from Dili to Covalima/Suai.[10][11]

In April 1983, an Indonesian State-owned airline, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, started operating a Kupang–Dili– [id]–Covalima/Suai flight.[12] As of 1985, that service was being flown twice a week,[12] and as of the mid 1990s, Merpati was still flying into Covalima/Suai.[13]

In the lead-up to its upgrading in the 2010s, the airport had an 'all weather' asphalt runway 1,053 m (3,455 ft) long and 19.3 m (63 ft) wide. It could accommodate aircraft as large as a Lockheed C-130 Hercules. At around the turn of the century, the terminal was remodelled and fitted with air conditioning. In general, the airport was for day time use only, but helicopter operations could be supported at night.[14]

East Timor's national Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 identified a need to extend and refurbish the runway and build new modern facilities.[5] After a significant upgrading, the airport in its present form was officially inaugurated on 20 June 2017, and named in honour of East Timorese resistance leader and statesman Xanana Gusmão.[5][15] The Indonesian State-owned enterprise PT Waskita Karya carried out the upgrading, at a total cost of US$86.7 million.[16]

On 28 September 2018, the airport hosted its first international arrival, a charter flight from Darwin, Australia, operated by Northern Oil & Gas Australia (NOGA).[17]

As of 2019, the airport usually had no more than one flight a day.[18]

Facilities[]

As upgraded, the airport has modern facilities complying with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for the safe operation of airplanes, light aircraft and helicopters. The facilities include a 1,500 m (4,900 ft) runway, a terminal building, a control tower, a fire station, a meteorological station and a helipad with medevac air ambulance facilities.[5][15]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) Archived 2008-08-27 at the Wayback Machine from Timor-Leste Civil Aviation Department Archived 2007-08-04 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b "Airport information for WPDB". World Aero Data. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Data current as of October 2006. Source: DAFIF.
  3. ^ a b Airport information for UAI at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  4. ^ a b "2.2.3 Timor-Leste Suai National Airport - Logistics Capacity Assessment - Digital Logistics Capacity Assessments". dlca.logcluster.org. World Food Programme. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Inauguration of Suai Airport". Government of Timor-Leste. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Inauguração do Aeroporto do Suai". Government of Timor-Leste (in Portuguese). 21 June 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Inaugurasaun Aeroportu Suai nian". Government of Timor-Leste (in Tetum). 21 June 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  8. ^ Timor-Leste Tourism Barometer 2018 (PDF) (Report). San Francisco: The Asia Foundation. 2018. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  9. ^ Município Covalima: Esboços Mapa Suco no Aldeia Timor-Leste (PDF) (in Tetum). Dili: Ministério das Finanças / Direcção Geral de Estatística / Direcção Nacional Cartografia Estatísticas. 2019. p. 40. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  10. ^ Stroud, Michael (21 March 1974). "World airline directory". Flight International. 105 (3393): 1, at 58. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  11. ^ Stroud, Michael (20 March 1975). "World airline directory". Flight International. 108 (3445): 459, at 507. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  12. ^ a b "East Timor Now: A Report of the Development Progress". Focus on Indonesia: 13–21, at 16. Winter 1985. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  13. ^ Duapuluh Tahun Timor Timur Membangun = Twenty Years of Development in East Timor (in Indonesian and English). Dili: Korps Pegawai Republik Indonesia Propinsi Timor Timur = Indonesian Civil Servants Corps East Timor Province. February 1996. p. 221. OCLC 68543593.
  14. ^ District Profile Covalima (PDF) (Report). April 2002. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  15. ^ a b "South Coast has now an international airport". Government of Timor-Leste. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Suai Supply Base". laohamutuk.org.
  17. ^ "First international flight at Suai Airport". Government of Timor-Leste. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  18. ^ Barker, Anne; Barnett, Michael (21 July 2019). "This small, remote town has a $500m freeway and a $120m airport no-one uses". ABC News. Retrieved 21 February 2022.

Further reading[]

External links[]

Media related to Suai Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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