Fledgling Timor Air stops Darwin to Dili flights

By Katrina Bolton

Posted May 10, 2012 12:28:29

PHOTO: The then East Timorese president, Jose Ramos Horta, was on the first Air Timor flight between Darwin and Dili last year. (John Waddell: Audience submitted)

MAP: East Timor

An East Timorese refugee's dream of a national airline is over, less than a year after the first plane took to the skies.

Timor Air launched last July with high hopes but has now ceased flights.

The then Timorese president, Jose Ramos Horta, was on the first flight between Darwin and Dili.

He said he hoped the airline would see more visitors between Australia and East Timor, if the price and service were right.

But less than 12 months later, Timor Air has stopped flights and is no longer selling tickets, saying it did not have enough passengers.

The airline was the dream of Jeremias Desousa, a Timorese refugee who fled to Darwin in 1975.

Its demise does not spell the end for flights between Australia and East Timor.

Another carrier continues to fly between Darwin and Dili eight times a week.

Source: www.abc.net.au