Oecusse Airport

Oecusse Airport (IATA: OEC, ICAO: WPOC), officially Oecusse Route of the Sandalwood International Airport (Portuguese: Aeroporto Internacional Oé-cusse Ambeno Rota do Sândalo, Tetum: Aeroportu Internasional Oé-Cusse Ambeno Rota do Sândalo), and formerly Palaban Airport, is an international airport serving Pante Macassar, the capital city of the Oecusse Special Administrative Region of East Timor.[2][3][4][5]

Oecusse Route of the Sandalwood International Airport

Aeroporto Internacional Oé-Cusse Ambeno Rota do Sândalo (Portuguese)

Aeroportu Internasional Oé-Cusse Ambeno Rota do Sândalo (Tetum)
Jet bridge at the airport
Jet bridge at the airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorGovernment of East Timor
ServesPante Macassar
LocationPalaban, Costa, Oecusse, East Timor
Time zoneTLT (+09:00)
Elevation AMSL0 ft / 0 m
Coordinates09°11′53″S 124°20′41″E
Map
Location of airport in East Timor##Location of airport in Timor
Location of airport in East Timor##Location of airport in Timor
OEC/WPOC
Location of airport in East Timor
Location of airport in East Timor##Location of airport in Timor
Location of airport in East Timor##Location of airport in Timor
OEC/WPOC
Location of airport in Timor#Southeast Asia#Asia
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 7,218 2,200 Asphalt
Sources: WIKA[1]

Location

The airport is located in the bairo (transl. village) of Palaban, which is on the western edge of Pante Macassar.[5][6] Palaban lies within the suco of Costa, part of the Pante Macassar administrative post.[7] Immediately to the north of the airport is the Savu Sea;[1][7] the airport's runway (09/27) is oriented east-west.[1][7]

History

In 1967, Transportes Aéreos de Timor (TAT), the national airline of the then Portuguese Timor, was operating flights between Baucau and Oecusse, with two de Havilland Doves.[8] In 1974 and 1975, TAT was flying scheduled domestic services from Dili to Oecusse.[9][10]

As of the mid-1990s, an Indonesian State-owned airline, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, was flying into Oecusse.[11]

Immediately prior to its redevelopment in the 2010s, the airport site was an essentially abandoned and nonfunctional airfield with an unpaved runway. It had no terminal, control tower or any other type of physical structure.[12]: 24, 36  As of 2014, its runway was a grass landing strip, 1,100 m (3,600 ft) long and 26 m (85 ft) wide.[13] That year, the government of East Timor planned to carry out a provisional rehabilitation of the airfield site, including the erection of a wire perimeter fence, a clean up and repair of the runway and aviation equipment, and the installation of a provisional control tower and allied facilities.[12]: 24 

A report published in 2014 by the authority overseeing the development of a special economic zone in Oecusse recommended the complete overhaul of the airfield.[12]: 6, 16, 24, 81  Between 2015 and 2018, a new international airport was built on the airfield site,[5][14] at a total cost of US$119 million.[15] The contractor for the development project was giant Indonesian state-owned enterprise PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA),[16] and ISQ (Portugal) acted as a project consultant.[12]

The work on the project included the construction or installation of landside and airside facilities such as an air traffic control (ATC) tower, a terminal building, quarantine facilities, a fuel depot, distance measuring equipment (DME), a VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) system, a taxiway and apron, airfield lighting (AFL), and other airport equipment. Additionally, the runway was widened and lengthened, the airport grounds were expanded to facilitate commercial operations, and the radar, navigation and safety systems were upgraded to international airport safety standards. More than 500 Indonesian and East Timorese workers were engaged on the project; most of the construction materials were brought in from Indonesia.[14]

On 18 June 2019, the redeveloped airport was inaugurated by East Timor President Francisco Guterres. Also present at the inauguration ceremony were the president of the Oecusse Special Administrative Region, Mari Alkatiri; the governor of the Indonesian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, Viktor Laiskodat; and others.[2][17][18]

One of the airport's new jet bridges was used on that occasion,[19] but neither has been used ever since.[20]

The airport is regarded by critics of the Oecusse-Ambeno Special Administrative Region (RAEOA) project as being the most prominent negative symbol of investments in the region, which they consider to be excessive, at least for the time being.[20] In April 2023, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced that it would fund a feasibility study into establishing a scheduled passenger airline to service the Oecusse exclave. The USTDA also stated that it wanted to improve air links within East Timor and boost its international air connectivity.[21]

Facilities

As redeveloped, the airport has a runway of 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in length and 45 m (148 ft) wide, and a parking area with capacity for seven aircraft of various types simultaneously. When in full operation, it is capable of processing more than 500 passengers per hour, and one million passengers per year, between departures and arrivals. It also has automatic emergency power generation systems, modern firefighting equipment and ground support equipment for aircraft support, automatic meteorological information system and a control tower with modern and complete communication systems.[22][23]

The airport complies with the applicable ICAO and IATA international standards in terms of safety, security and comfort of usage. It was designed to handle unrestricted operation of Airbus A320 or Boeing 737-800 aircraft, day and night. The airport also has facilities for the processing of cargo and live animals, including quarantine services.[22]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Aero Dili Dili[24]
ZEESM Dili[25][26]
  • View of the old landing strip in 2014.
    View of the old landing strip in 2014.
  • Landing at the old landing strip.
    Landing at the old landing strip.
  • East Timor President Francisco Guterres arriving at the airport for the inauguration ceremony on 18 June 2019.
    East Timor President Francisco Guterres arriving at the airport for the inauguration ceremony on 18 June 2019.
  • Airport terminal building.
    Airport terminal building.

See also

References
  1. New Development of Oecusse Airport: Design Notes (Revision 2) (Report). PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk. (WIKA). 16 September 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  2. "5th Anniversary Celebration of the Creation of RAEOA / ZEESM-TL and Inauguration of the International Airport of Oé-cusse Ambeno "Rota do Sândalo" (Route of the Sandalwood)". Government of Timor-Leste. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  3. "Cerimónia de Comemoração do 5.º Aniversário da Criação da RAEOA/ZEESM-TL e Inauguração do Aeroporto Internacional de Oé-cusse Ambeno "Rota do Sândalo"". Government of Timor-Leste (in Portuguese). 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  4. "Serimónia Komemorasaun Aniversáriu Kriasaun RAEOA/ZEESM-TL nian ba Dala 5 no Inaugurasaun Aeroportu Internasional de Oé-Cusse Ambeno "Rota do Sândalo"". Government of Timor-Leste (in Tetum). 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  5. Rahman, Riska (21 June 2019). "After Oecusse Airport, Wika eyes more in Timor Leste". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  6. Rose, Michael Charles (October 2017). Between kase (foreign) and meto (indigenous) Highland spirits and global aspirations in the Oecussi enclave (PDF) (PhD). Australian National University. p. 121. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  7. Município Oe-Cusse Ambeno: Esboços Mapa Suco no Aldeia Timor-Leste (PDF) (in Tetum). Dili: Ministério das Finanças / Direcção Geral de Estatística / Direcção Nacional Cartografia Estatísticas. 2019. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  8. "World airline survey". Flight International. 91 (3031): 549, at 595. 13 April 1967. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Bano, Arsénio (2013–2014). Oecusse Special Economic Zones of Social Market Economy: First steps towards a new Oecusse (PDF) (Report). ZEESM. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  13. "Runways at Oecussi Airport". ourairports.com. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  14. Novalius, Feby (19 June 2019). "WIKA Rampungkan Pembangunan Bandara Internasional Oecusse Timor Leste" [WIKA Completes Construction of Oecusse Timor Leste International Airport]. Okezone (in Indonesian). Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  15. "Oecusse Airport built by WIKA has been inaugurated | IDNFinancials". www.idnfinancials.com. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  16. WIKA Oecusse (17 August 2017), DIRGAHAYU INDONESIA by PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk, Oecusse Airport Project Timor-Leste, archived from the original on 21 December 2021, retrieved 3 October 2017
  17. "Indonesian Plane Launches New Airport in Timorese Enclave of Oecusse". Visit East Timor. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  18. "Timorese President Calls for Business Plan in Oecusse Enclave". Visit East Timor. Lusa. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  19. "Avião indonésio estreia manga no novo aeroporto do enclave timorense de Oecusse" [Indonesian plane debuts jet bridge at the new airport in the Timorese enclave of Oecusse]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Lusa. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  20. "Oecusse, o enclave onde tudo começou e cujo futuro ainda parece pouco claro" [Oecusse, the enclave where it all began and whose future still seems unclear]. SAPO (in Portuguese). Lusa. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  21. "US trade agency funds study into new Timor-Leste airline". ch-aviation. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  22. "Oé-Cusse International Airport "Rota Do Sândalo" (Sandalo Route) Has Been Inaugurated". www.zeesm.tl. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  23. "New Timorese Airport of Oecusse Hosts Indonesian and Dili Movements". Visit East Timor. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  24. Oki, Raimundos (12 August 2022). "Timor-Leste commercial aircraft Aero Dili successfully made its first international technical landing at El Tari Kupang". The Oekusi Post. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  25. "ZEESM Timor-Leste". Tourism Timor-Leste. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  26. "Getting Here". Visit Oé-Cusse. Retrieved 18 April 2022.

Further reading

Media related to Oecusse Airport at Wikimedia Commons

  • Special Economic Zones for Social Market Economy website
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