Merpati resumes service to Dili<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (AFP): An Indonesian civilian aircraft with
\ngovernment and airline officials aboard was the first plane to
\nland here Monday when East Timor's main airport reopened to
\ncommercial flights.<\/p>\n
The Merpati F-28 touched down at 12:35 p.m. (0435 GMT) at
\nDili's Comoro airport, the scene of last year's panicked
\nevacuation at the onset of the sacking and burning of Dili by
\npro-Indonesian militia and military.<\/p>\n
The twin-engined F-28 carried some 30 Indonesian airline and
\ngovernment, police and military officials to the UN-administered
\nterritory as well as an MP from Jakarta.<\/p>\n
There are still no regularly-scheduled commercial flights to
\nEast Timor but the officials from Merpati were investigating the
\npossibility of resuming service.<\/p>\n
Shortly before the flight landed UN Transitional
\nAdministration in East Timor (UNTAET) officials raised the blue-
\nand-white UN flag on a new flag pole near the tarmac, where it
\nwas saluted by 10 members of the Royal Australian Air Force
\n(RAAF).<\/p>\n
Airport officials had earlier removed a large cement
\nIndonesian-language airport sign from the edge of the tarmac.<\/p>\n
"We've opened the airport to regular public traffic," said
\nGroup Captain Stewart Cameron, of the RAAF.<\/p>\n
"It's a fairly potent symbol to the world that business has
\nresumed in East Timor," Cameron told journalists. "What we need
\nto do now is get the East Timorese involved in the airport."<\/p>\n
An RAAF member directed the Merpati jet to its parking spot on
\nthe tarmac, where two Royal New Zealand Air Force Huey
\nhelicopters had touched down minutes earlier to reinstall their
\ndoor-mounted machine guns.<\/p>\n
The RAAF still provides air traffic controllers and perimeter
\ndefense for the airport.<\/p>\n
Sergio Vieira de Mello, who heads UNTAET, embraced Piet Tallo,
\ngovernor of the neighboring Indonesian province of East Nusa
\nTenggara, when he stepped off the aircraft.<\/p>\n
Two officials from the National Council of Timorese
\nResistance, Jose Ramos-Horta and Joao Carrascalao, also welcomed
\nthe visitors, who bypassed UNTAET's new immigration check and
\nwent directly to a briefing in the airport's VIP lounge.<\/p>\n
They were told the airport toilets do not work and its
\ninfrastructure is limited, but that the airport has been re-
\nopened for commercial aviation to assist in East Timor's economic
\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n
An Australian charter airline operates three times a week from
\nDarwin to Dili, but has yet to be approved by UNTAET.<\/p>\n
On Friday de Mello told journalists Merpati was "very
\ninterested in resuming flights to Dili."<\/p>\n
Until it ceased its service from the Indonesian cities of
\nJakarta, Denpasar and Kupang in August, Merpati ran the only
\nregular commercial airline flights to East Timor.<\/p>\n
The airline stopped landing in East Timor as violence
\nincreased around the August 30 ballot in which East Timorese
\nvoted for independence from Indonesia, which invaded the
\nterritory in 1975.<\/p>\n
Dili's airport became a busy military landing field with
\nround-the-clock arrivals of troops and supplies once
\ninternational peacekeepers began their deployment on Sept. 20.<\/p>\n
The airport still serves as a base for air operations of the
\nInternational Force in East Timor (Interfet) and also hosts
\nflights by the United Nations and aid organizations.<\/p>\n
De Mello said an airline associated with the Australian
\ncarrier Qantas has also expressed interest in operating a regular
\nservice to Dili.<\/p>\n
He said UNTAET's immigration service would be established by
\nMonday, but that "customs may have to wait a bit longer."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/merpati-resumes-service-to-dili-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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