Summary
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]
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) | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Government of East Timor | ||||||||||
| Serves | Suai, Cova Lima, East Timor | ||||||||||
| Location | Labarai, Suai | ||||||||||
| Time zone | TLT (+09:00) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 96 ft / 29 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 09°18′14″S 125°17′13″E / 9.30389°S 125.28694°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  UAI/WPDB Location of airport in East Timor  UAI/WPDB Location of airport in Timor | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Location edit
The airport is located 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Suai,[1][2][3] in the southwestern corner of the suco of Labarai, which is part of the Suai administrative post.[9] The airport's runway (16/34) is oriented broadly north-south.[1][4]
History edit
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–Maliana–Covalima/Suai flight.[12] In 1985, that service was being flown twice a week.[12] As of the mid 1990s, Merpati was still flying into Covalima/Suai,[13] and in mid 1999, Merpati was operating one flight a week on a Dili–Covalima/Suai–Kupang routing, using an Indonesian-built CASA turboprop aircraft.[14]: 129–130
When the Indonesian occupation of East Timor came to an end later that year, the runway at Suai was still only very short.[14]: 130 During the ensuing INTERFET peacemaking operation, the 17th Construction Squadron of the Australian Army upgraded the airport to support all-weather operations by Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft. The runway was extended by 150 metres (490 ft), and a turning node added. Hard stands were provided, along with accommodation, workshops and five helipads.[15]: 101–103
At around that time, the terminal was remodelled and fitted with air conditioning.[16]
In the lead-up to the airport's upgrading in the mid 2010s, its runway was an 'all weather' asphalt strip 1,053 m (3,455 ft) long and 19.3 m (63 ft) wide that could accommodate aircraft as large as a C-130. In general, the airport was for day time use only, but helicopter operations could be supported at night.[16]
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][17][18] The facilities added during the upgrading included a new sealed runway, a terminal building, a control tower, hangars for five large helicopters and fire fighting equipment.[18] The Indonesian State-owned enterprise PT Waskita Karya carried out the upgrading, at a total cost of US$86.7 million.[19]
On 28 September 2018, the airport hosted its first international arrival, a charter flight from Darwin, Australia, operated by Northern Oil & Gas Australia (NOGA).[20]
As of 2019[update], the airport was barely being used,[21] and usually had no more than one flight a day.[22]
Facilities edit
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 capability.[5][17]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ 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
- ^ 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. - ^ a b Airport information for UAI at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d "Inauguration of Suai Airport". Government of Timor-Leste. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Inauguração do Aeroporto do Suai". Government of Timor-Leste (in Portuguese). 21 June 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ "Inaugurasaun Aeroportu Suai nian". Government of Timor-Leste (in Tetum). 21 June 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ Timor-Leste Tourism Barometer 2018 (PDF) (Report). San Francisco: The Asia Foundation. 2018. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "East Timor Now: A Report of the Development Progress". Focus on Indonesia: 13–21, at 16. Winter 1985. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Pedersen, Jon; Arneberg, Marie (1999). Social and Economic Conditions in East Timor (PDF) (Report). New York: International Conflict Resolution Program School of International and Public Affairs Columbia University / Oslo: Fafo Institute of Applied Social Science. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ Tyquin, Michael (2018). Highlands to Deserts. Sydney: Big Sky Publishing. ISBN 978-1-925675-07-8. OCLC 1079394171.
- ^ a b District Profile Covalima (PDF) (Report). April 2002. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
- ^ a b "South Coast has now an international airport". Government of Timor-Leste. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ a b "VIPs and Medevacs (Timor Leste)". MAF Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
- ^ "Suai Supply Base". laohamutuk.org.
- ^ "First international flight at Suai Airport". Government of Timor-Leste. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ Scott, Jason (29 August 2019). "A $12 Billion Gas Project Could Make or Break This Young Nation". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- ^ Barker, Anne; Barnett, Michael (21 July 2019). "Oil and gas is Timor-Leste's ticket to prosperity. Is this impoverished nation blowing its one chance?". ABC News. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
Further reading edit
- McDonald, Hamish (5 October 2020). "Sun is setting on Timor-Leste's pipe dream". Asia Times. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
- "Goal: Tasi Mane petroleum project Objective: Suai airport rehabilitation Target: G020301 - Suai Airport Rehabilitation". Timor-Leste Government Results Portal. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- "Suai Supply Base and airport as a part of Tasi Mane Project (TMP), Timor-Leste". Environmental Justice Atlas. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
External links edit
Media related to Suai Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Accident history for UAI at Aviation Safety Network
- Foto: Keren, BUMN RI Ini Sulap Bandara di Timor Leste Jadi Megah – article (in Indonesian) with photographs of the airport
