Wikipedia

A. A. Bere Tallo Airport

A.A. Bere Tallo Airport (IATA: ABU, ICAO: WATA), formerly known as Haliwen Airport, is a domestic airport serving Atambua, the capital of Belu Regency on the island of Timor in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The airport is named after Alfonsius Andreas Bere Tallo, the first regent of Belu Regency, while the former name is named after the district where the airport is located. It is currently one of only two airports in West Timor with regular scheduled flights, the other being the larger and busier El Tari International Airport in Kupang. Located approximately 4 km (2.5 miles) from Atambua town center, the airport serves as a key gateway to Atambua and Belu Regency. Currently, it is served by a single scheduled route to Kupang, operated by Wings Air. Previously, the airport offered routes to Kisar and Dili operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines; however, all of these services have since been discontinued.

A. A. Bere Tallo Airport
Bandar Udara A. A. Bere Tallo
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGovernment of Indonesia
OperatorDirectorate General of Civil Aviation
ServesAtambua
LocationAtambua, Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
Time zoneWITA (UTC+08:00)
Elevation AMSL1,434 ft / 437.18 m
Coordinates09°04′29″S 124°54′12″E / 9.07472°S 124.90333°E / -9.07472; 124.90333
Map
Interactive map of A. A. Bere Tallo Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
08/26 5,249 1,600 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Passengers22,563 (Decrease 30.46%)
Cargo (tonnes)1.53 (Decrease 88.36%)
Aircraft movements525 (Decrease 23.47%)
Source: DGCA[1][2]
Apron view
Check-in area
Boarding gate
Baggage claim area

History

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Haliwen Airfield was originally constructed by the Japanese during their occupation of the Dutch East Indies in 1942 as a military airfield at the height of World War II, intended to support operations against Allied forces.[3] Previously, a small aerodrome existed at Atambua, used by the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) prior to the Battle of Timor. However, it was little more than a quagmire and proved unsuitable for operations, rendering it ineffective in resisting the advancing Japanese forces.[4] The airfield initially featured an 800-meter grass runway.[3] Throughout the war, the airfield was repeatedly targeted and bombed by Allied forces due to its strategic nature.[5] Following the war, the airfield was taken over by the Indonesian Air Force and closed to civilian traffic, functioning only as an emergency airstrip.[6]

In 1972, the runway was extended to 900 meters and upgraded with a stone surface. In 1974, the first aircraft operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines landed at the airfield, followed in 1979 by services from Mission Aviation Fellowship.[7] The airfield was officially inaugurated for civil aviation use in 1976; however, at the time, it was limited to non-scheduled flights.[3]

In April 1983, Merpati Nusantara Airlines launched a pioneering round-trip route between Kupang, Atambua, and Dili—then part of the province of East Timor—operating twice weekly.[8]

In 2010, scheduled commercial services began when Susi Air launched the Kupang–Atambua–Kupang route using Cessna Caravan 208 aircraft with a capacity of 12 passengers, operating daily flights. Around the same time, Merpati Nusantara Airlines introduced a twice-weekly Kupang–Atambua–Kisar service.[3] Nusantara Buana Air also briefly operated the Kupang–Atambua route in late 2011 before ceasing operations shortly thereafter.[9] Following the introduction of scheduled services, the airport underwent significant improvements, including a major expansion of the terminal building from a small facility into a larger one. In September 2013, the airport was renamed A.A. Bere Tallo Airport in honor of Alfonsius Andreas Bere Tallo, the first Regent of Belu Regency.[10]

In December 2019, TransNusa launched the Kupang–Atambua route using ATR 72 aircraft; however, the service was later discontinued.[11] As of 2026, Wings Air is the sole airline serving this route and the only carrier operating flights to and from the airport.[12]

Facilities and development

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Due to its proximity to the Indonesia–East Timor border, the airport is considered to have strategic importance.[13] Currently, the airport has a single runway measuring 1,600 m × 30 m, capable of accommodating aircraft such as the ATR 72 and Fokker 50. Proposals have been made by the Ministry of Transportation to extend the runway to 2,000 m, and eventually to 2,500 m, to enable operations by narrow-body aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320; however, these plans have not yet been implemented.[14][15]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Wings Air Kupang[16]

Statistics

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Annual passenger numbers and aircraft statistics
Year
Passengers
handled
Passenger
% change
Cargo
(tonnes)
Cargo
% change
Aircraft
movements
Aircraft
% change
2006 2,820 Steady N/A Steady 200 Steady
2007 2,154 Decrease 23.62 0.78 Steady 196 Decrease 2.00
2008 1,611 Decrease 25.21 N/A Steady 196 Steady
2009 1,761 Increase 9.31 0.40 Steady 160 Decrease 18.37
2010 1,873 Increase 6.36 0.37 Decrease 7.50 269 Increase 68.13
2011 8,594 Increase 358.84 N/A Steady 1,070 Increase 297.77
2012 5,648 Decrease 34.28 N/A Steady 786 Decrease 26.54
2013 3,836 Decrease 32.08 N/A Steady 673 Decrease 14.38
2014 5,951 Increase 55.14 0.02 Steady 696 Increase 3.42
2015 22,571 Increase 279.28 11.93 Increase 59550.00 812 Increase 16.67
2016 76,951 Increase 240.93 0.04 Decrease 99.66 1,488 Increase 83.25
2017 82,989 Increase 7.85 N/A Steady 1,666 Increase 11.96
2018 102,786 Increase 23.85 N/A Steady 2,138 Increase 28.33
2019 43,118 Decrease 58.05 2.56 Steady 848 Decrease 60.34
2020 39,313 Decrease 8.82 24.07 Increase 840.23 898 Increase 5.90
2021 15,725 Decrease 60.00 23.54 Decrease 2.20 401 Decrease 55.35
2022 30,788 Increase 95.79 11.43 Decrease 51.44 688 Increase 71.57
2023 32,446 Increase 5.39 13.14 Increase 14.96 686 Decrease 0.29
2024 22,563 Decrease 30.46 1.53 Decrease 88.36 525 Decrease 23.47
Source: DGCA, BPS[2][17]

References

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  1. ↑ "Bandar Udara A. A. Bere Tallo" (in Indonesian). Ministry of Transportation. Retrieved 6 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Statistik Transportasi Udara 2024". Statistics Indonesia. 1 December 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Profil dan Sejarah Bandar Udara A. A. Bere Tallo Atambua". PPID UPBU A. A. Bere Tallo Atambua (Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur). Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  4. ↑ Wray, Christopher C. H. (1990). Timor 1942: Australian Commandos at War with the Japanese. Mandarin Australia. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-86330-046-9.
  5. ↑ Netherlands News: The Netherlands, the Netherlands East Indies, the Netherlands West Indies ... Netherlands Information Bureau. 1944. pp. 246, 366.
  6. ↑ Negeri, Indonesia Departemen Luar (1957). Pewarta Kemlu (in Indonesian). Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia. p. 127.
  7. ↑ "Bandar A.A. Bere Tallo Atambua Bakal Jadi Transit TL – METROTIMOR.com". metrotimor.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  8. ↑ 10 tahun Provinsi Timor Timur membangun (in Indonesian). Pemerintah Provinsi Daerah Tingkat I Timor Timur. 1986. p. 79.
  9. ↑ "Maskapai NBA Beroperasi Kembali". liputan6.com (in Indonesian). 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  10. ↑ BeritaSatu.com (24 February 2013). "Bandara Haliwen Atambua Ganti Nama". beritasatu.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  11. ↑ Tokan, Bernadus (2019-11-18). "TransNusa buka rute baru ke Atambua dan Waingapu mulai Desember 2019". Antara News (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  12. ↑ Kaha, Kornelis (2019-02-13). "Wings Air optimistis penumpang kembali meningkat". Antara News NTT (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2026-04-02.
  13. ↑ Lewokeda, Aloysius (2018-05-07). "Landasan pacu Bandara Atambua diperpanjang jadi 2.000 meter". Antara News NTT (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  14. ↑ Jempau, Ario (2018-05-08). "Landasan Pacu Bandara Atambua Diperpanjang". Floresa (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  15. ↑ Ramdhani, Jabbar (29 October 2016). "2 Arti Atambua bagi Menhub, Landasan Bandara akan Diperpanjang Jadi 2.000 Meter". detiknews (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2026-04-03.
  16. ↑ "Flight history for Wings Air flight IW1954". flightradar24.com. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "Statistik Angkatan Udara 2019" (PDF). DGCA. Retrieved 3 May 2025.



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