Aero Dili starting KL flights in March 2026, Darwin in May

By Andrew Curran.

Timor-Leste’s Aero Dili will begin flights to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) this month and Darwin (DRW) in May, according to founder and CEO Lourenço de Oliveira.

At a February 27, 2026, press conference in Dili, de Oliveira said round-trips between Dili (DIL) and Kuala Lumpur would start on March 28 and Dili and Darwin on May 24.

The CEO said his airline was committed to "improving strategic connections, strengthening economic ties, and increasing opportunities for passengers travelling to and from Timor-Leste.”

Neither route is unserved, with Batik Air Malaysia already operating on the Dili – Kuala Lumpur city-pair and Airnorth and Qantas flying the Dili – Darwin route.

However, de Oliveira says there is room for Aero Dili. Batik Air only operates two round-trips a week to Dili, and de Oliveira indicated that Aero Dili would operate its flights at different times.

“I try to make a balance,” he said.

Things are a little more competitive on the Dili – Darwin route, with Airnorth running thrice-weekly E170 round-trips and Qantas operating daily E190 flights. But de Oliveira said Aero Dili’s service would improve links between Timor-Leste and Northern Australia.

Planned flights by Aero Dili to neighbouring Australia have been on the drawing boards since the airline started in 2018, with a few false starts along the way. However, the latest announcement provides a firm start date and can be directly attributed to de Oliveira.

Aero Dili currently flies between Dili and Denpasar (DPS), Singapore (SIN), Fuzhou (FOC), and Xiamen (XMN) using two Airbus narrowbodies. ADS-B flight tracking data shows that both aircraft have a fair amount of downtime.

Photo: AI-Generated.

Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com