A. A. Bere Tallo Airport

Last updated
A. A. Bere Tallo Airport
Summary
Owner Ministry of Transportation
Operator Ministry of Transportation
Serves Atambua, Indonesia
Time zone WITA (UTC+08:00)
Elevation  AMSL 1,434 ft / 437.18 m
Coordinates 09°04′29″S124°54′12″E / 9.07472°S 124.90333°E / -9.07472; 124.90333
A. A. Bere Tallo Airport
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
08/265,2491,600 Asphalt

A.A. Bere Tallo Airport, previously known as Haliwen Airport( IATA : ABU [1] , ICAO : WATA [2] , formerly WRKA [3] ) is located in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. [4] [5]

Contents

It changed its name in 2013, to match local government's regulation on airport naming. [6]

History

The airport was a stop-over location in the early days of pioneering aviation for Bill Lancaster and Jessie Maude "Chubbie" Miller in 1927. This journey was one of the longest flights made in a small aircraft and the first attempted flight between England and Australia. However, the flight was overtaken by Bert Hinkler, who was the first to complete the journey. [7] Haliwen Airfield was first built by the Japanese Government in 1942 with a grass-based 800 meter long runway. [8]

Civil aviation

In 1972, the runway was improved by length to 900 meters with a stone surface. Then in 1976, it was inaugurated as a civil aviation airport with the name Haliwen Airfield, headed by Mr. Paulus Seran with a term of office from 1976 - 1989. During this time, the airport was only used by non-scheduled flights. In 1989, during the tenure of Mr. Untung Riadi, Haliwen Airfield was upgraded to a Class IV Airport. Along with the upgrade, the airport was renamed to Haliwen Atambua Class IV Airport. However, even during this time, it still only served unscheduled flights. By 1996, Mr. Bambang Samudro replaced Mr. Untung Riadi as Head of the Airport Office and served until 2010. In 2006, the airport had a runway length of just 900 meters. [9] It was extended several times, with plans to extend the runway to 2,500 meters eventually. [10] [8]

Present

In 2010, the company Susi Pudjiastuti (Susi Air) opened the Kupang-Atambau-Kupang route, using a Cessna Caravan 208 aircraft, which has a seating capacity of 12 passengers. The service operated daily flights. At the same time, Merpati Airlines also opened the Kupang-Atambua-Kiser route with twice-weekly flights. Mr. Yacobis S. Mozes served as the airport head until 2013. Under his leadership, Haliwen Airport saw many improvements, including a major upgrade to the terminal building. It was upgraded from a small to a large-sized terminal. In September 2013, the airport was again upgraded to a Class III Airport, and its name was changed to Class III A. A. Bere Tallo-Atambua Airport Administrative Unit. The name honors Alfonsius Andreas Bere Tallo, the first Regent of Belu Regency. [8]

Today, UPBU A. A. Bere Tallo is still active and serves scheduled commercial flights, such as those operated by Wings Air. [8]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Wings Air Kupang [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Airline and Airport Code Search (ABU: Haliwen Airport, Atambua)". International Air Transport Association (IATA). Retrieved 6 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Airport information for Haliwen Airport (IATA: ABU, ICAO: WATA) at Great Circle Mapper.
  3. ↑ "WRKA - Atambua [A. A. Bere Tallo Airport], NT, ID - Location - Great Circle Mapper". Gcmap.com. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "ABU - Atambua, Haliwen Airport Current Weather and Airport Delay Conditions". FlightStats.com. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Atambua Airport (ABU) Details - Indonesia". Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2012-02-18.
  6. ↑ "Bandara Haliwen Atambua Ganti Nama". Berita Satu (in Indonesian). 24 February 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  7. ↑ The_Lost_Aviator 2014 documentary reference
  8. 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.
  9. ↑ "SESKO TNI REKOMENDASIKAN PENGEMBANGAN BANDARA HALIWEN". Tni.mil.id (in Indonesian). 16 August 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "Landasan Pacu Bandara AA Bere Tallo Diperpanjang Jadi 2.000 Meter - Kompas.com". KOMPAS (in Indonesian). 9 May 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "Flight history for Wings Air flight IW1954". flightradar24.com. Retrieved 16 September 2025.



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