Picture of the month 74 (February 2024)

One of the most colorful F100s that could be seen in the skies was PK-TWN (11335) in the complete livery of Leste Aviation. This virtual airline was the first to carry the flag of East Timor (officially Repúblika Demokrátika de Timór-Leste in local language). Founder was captain Sardjono Jhony Tjitrokusumo, former pilot and chairman of Merpati Nusantara Airlines, backed by Chinese investors. Leste Aviation leased a Fokker 100 from Transwisata, PK-TWN (11335). The inaugural flight was on 27 April 2016 from Jakarta-Halim to Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Dili, the capital of East Timor. After the Indonesian Civil Aviation authorities granted permission to fly, the F100 was seen on the scheduled route between Denpasar (Bali) and Dili as well as in Jakarta. The color scheme shown here was very short-lived, as the tail colors were gone by July 2016 and replaced with an all-black tail. Not only the livery was short-lived, also the airline did not survive for more than a few months; in October 2016 Leste Aviation ceased operations. (unknown photographer in Aktual; Dili, 27 April 2016)