Timorese pilots attend training in Australia
The Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources has sent five Timorese pilots for a three months training to obtain a Multi Engine Pilot License with Conversion to Australian Standards (CASA) at BASAIR Aviation College in Sydney, Australia, starting from October to December 2013.
The Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Alfredo Pires, said that this training is a preparation phase for the pilots to obtain licenses according to international standards.
“It is very important that our first pilots obtain their pilot license from the best place in the world, which is Australia. Until now, Australia’s reputation in the aviation industry is secured as the best in the world. In the future we will need fixed-wing pilots to fly from Dili to Suai and from Suai to the offshore platforms by helicopter, that is what we are preparing for now”, said Minister Pires.
Minister Pires also added that, the five pilots (one female and four male) are graduate students supported by the Ministry of Education and they have graduated as fixed-wing pilots, with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Air Transportation-BSAT, with a Major in Advance Flying, in 2009 at the University of Philsca in the Philippines.
“The cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources started with the IV Government which decided that, pilots sent to study by the Ministry of Education will be transferred to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral resources to take care of their future development, because they still have a long way to go. They have to attend further training and work in various fields once they have officially become pilots”, Minister Pires said.
After completing their training, these five pilots will be integrated into the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.
