Dili airport set to reopen to commercial flights: UN

Dili airport set to reopen to commercial flights: UN

DILI, East Timor (AFP): An Indonesian aircraft is expected to
be among the first to land in the East Timorese capital of Dili
next Monday when commercial aviation service is able to resume,
the UN mission said Friday.

"The Dili airport can be re-opened next Monday for civil air
traffic," Sergio Vieira de Mello, who heads the UN Transitional
Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), told journalists.

De Mello said he understood but could not yet confirm the
Indonesian airline, Merpati, will conduct a "test flight" into
Dili's Komoro airport on Monday.

"I welcome this development," said de Mello, who plans to meet
the aircraft.

He said Merpati is "very interested in resuming flights to
Dili."

Until it ceased its service from the Indonesian cities of
Jakarta, Denpasar and Kupang in August, Merpati ran the only
regular commercial airline flights to East Timor.

The airline stopped landing in East Timor as violence
increased around the August 30 ballot in which East Timorese
voted for independence from Indonesia, which invaded the
territory in 1975.

Dili's airport became a busy military landing field with
round-the-clock arrivals of troops and supplies once
international peacekeepers began their deployment on September
20.

The airport still serves as a base for air operations of the
International Force East Timor (Interfet) but it also hosts
flights by the United Nations and aid organizations.

De Mello said an airline associated with the Australian
carrier, Qantas, has also expressed interest in operating a
service to Dili.

He said UNTAET's immigration service will be established by
Monday to check the passports of arriving passengers.

"However, customs may have to wait a bit longer," he said.