Transportes Aéreos de Timor

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Transportes Aéreos de Timor
TAT's de Havilland Dove CR-TAG "Manatuto" at Bankstown Airport, Sydney, early 1970s
TAT's de Havilland Dove CR-TAG "Manatuto" at Bankstown Airport, Sydney, early 1970s
Founded1939
Ceased operations1975
Operating bases
Destinations
  • Darwin
  • Kupang
  • Domestic destinations
HeadquartersDili, Portuguese Timor

Transportes Aéreos de Timor or TAT was an airline of the colony of Portuguese Timor, headquartered in Dili. It operated between 1939 and 1975.

History[]

TAT was founded as the colony's national airline in July 1939, several years before TAP Air Portugal, the national airline of the motherland.[1] It was headquartered in Dili,[1] and its operating bases were at Dili Airport and Baucau Airport.[2]

TAT served destinations within the colony and the neighbouring countries of Australia and Indonesia.[3]

Destinations[]

The TAT hangar at Dili Airport during the colonial period

In 1967, TAT operated flights between Baucau and Oecusse, and between Baucau and Darwin, Australia, with two de Havilland Doves.[4]

As of 1969, TAT was flying to six destinations in Portuguese Timor, and once a week a chartered Fokker F27 Friendship of Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) operated the Baucau to Darwin route.[2]

In 1974 and 1975, TAT was operating scheduled domestic services from Dili to , Baucau,  [id], Oecusse and Suai. The Baucau to Darwin services operated by TAA for TAT had become thrice-weekly, and TAT was also serving Kupang in West Timor, Indonesia, from Dili once a week, using a Douglas DC-3 chartered from Merpati Nusantara Airlines.[3][5]

After Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin at the end of 1974, the flights between Baucau and Darwin were suspended.[6]

Fleet[]

As of 1967, TAT had two de Havilland Doves in its fleet.[4] By 1969, three Austers had been added,[2] but they had left the fleet by 1971.[7]

At the time the airline was shut down following the Indonesian invasion of East Timor at the end of 1975, the fleet consisted of the two Doves and a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander.[1]

Incidents and accidents[]

On January 26, 1960, a TAT de Havilland Heron, registration CR-TAI, crashed north west of Bathurst Island in the Timor Sea, approximately one hour after taking off from Darwin on a flight to Baucau. Two crew members and seven passengers were killed. It is believed that the pilot had difficulty with poor visibility, for which he had not been trained.[8]

Aircraft on display[]

TAT de Havilland Dove CR-TAG "Manatuto", named after the East Timorese town of Manatuto, escaped the Indonesian invasion of East Timor, and is now on display at the Darwin Aviation Museum.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Stroud, Michael (10 April 1976). "World airline directory". Flight International. 109 (3500): 895, at 963. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "World airline survey". Flight International. 95 (3135): 549, at 596. 10 April 1969. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  3. ^ a b Stroud, Michael (21 March 1974). "World airline directory". Flight International. 105 (3393): 1, at 58. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  4. ^ a b "World airline survey". Flight International. 91 (3031): 549, at 595. 13 April 1967. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  5. ^ Stroud, Michael (20 March 1975). "World airline directory". Flight International. 108 (3445): 459, at 507. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  6. ^ Nicol, Bill (2002). Timor: A Nation Reborn. Jakarta; Singapore: Equinox Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 979958986X.
  7. ^ Stroud, Michael (6 May 1971). "World airlines". Flight International. 99 (3243): 607, at 649. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
  8. ^ Accident description for CR-TAI at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 1 November 2018.
  9. ^ "de Havilland Dove CR-TAG". Darwin Aviation Museum website. Retrieved 1 November 2018.

External links[]

Media related to Transportes Aéreos de Timor at Wikimedia Commons

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