Mission Aviation Fellowship Timor Leste

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Timor-Leste
Dili
Mission Aviation Fellowship Timor Leste

Working in partnership with the Ministry of Health and various NGOs and Aid agencies, to assist in the health and development of Timor Leste

We work with the Timorese Ambulance Service to provide emergency medical evacuation flights from the districts into the capital Dili. Since 2007 over 1150 patients have been carried in our flights. We also work with many NGOs, Aid agencies, and Government bodies, to provide safe and time efficient transport to the 8 district airfields around Timor, saving them many hours on dangerous or rough roads, allowing them to use their valuable time more effectively. We are also available for general charters.

12/10/2026

On Wednesday, 16 September, MAF in Timor-Leste had the privilege of bringing three patients safely back home to Atauro.

For Orlando Soares and Monica Celina Lopes Ximenes, it was a return home after completing routine medical check-ups in Dili.

But for Delfina, the journey home carried a much deeper meaning. Just two days earlier, a very pale Delfina Dos Santos had been evacuated from Atauro to Dili after experiencing serious complications following childbirth, including a retained placenta that caused bleeding. Her condition required urgent medical care, and she was transported to Dili for treatment.

At that moment, the focus was simply on getting her safely to the care she needed.

Only two days later, the MAF team received a call that brought great joy: Delfina was well enough to return home.

“To be honest, when I flew Delfina on the stretcher, I did not dare to imagine that she would ever return to Atauro,” he said. “But God is good!”

23/09/2026

MAF pilots don’t only know how to operate an aircraft, they also know how to make passengers feel safe, comfortable, and at ease throughout the journey.

Meet our newest MAF pilot here, Hendrik Jan Hardenbol, whom everyone calls ‘Jelle’.

Together with his family, Jelle made the decision to leave the Netherlands and come to Timor-Leste to serve in the mission and support the community through his skills and experience as a pilot.

Rivano (pictured) and his mother were about to travel from Dili to Suai on an MAF aircraft. However, Rivano kept crying, and at that moment, Jelle took the initiative to bring Rivano to see the aircraft and sit in the cockpit so that he would feel calm and safe and could continue the journey comfortably.

This simple situation shows us that an MAF pilot does not simply fly the aircraft to take passengers and patients to their destinations. It also shows how they continue to care for them and help them feel safe throughout the journey.

30/08/2026

Going home! Last week, we evacuated Orlando Soares and his family from Atauro Island after he experienced difficulty breathing and heart complications. With the support of the ambulance service (SNAEM), Orlando was transported safely to Dili for medical treatment at the national hospital.
After one week of treatment and care, Orlando is now recovering well and was able to return home to Atauro with his family. On Friday, they boarded MAF’s regular shuttle flight back to their hometown with happy smiles and grateful hearts.
For Orlando and his family, MAF’s ‘Closing the Loop’ project has made an important difference. After receiving the medical care he needed in Dili, the project helped facilitate his journey home, allowing him to return to Atauro without the burden of paying the normal airfare.
Orlando’s son, Simao Soares, said, “We are very thankful to MAF and SNAEM for helping us get treatment in Dili. The ‘Closing the Loop’ project has really helped our family return to our hometown. It will also help us come back to Dili every month for medical check-ups by paying only the cost of the boat fare instead of the normal ticket.”
Simao also shared his appreciation to the donors and everyone who makes this work possible. He said that although his family may not have anything to give in return, they will continue to pray for God to bless MAF, its donors, and everyone involved in serving communities in Timor-Leste.

26/08/2026

During lunchtime, our MAF team in Timor-Leste received a call from the Ambulance Call Centre regarding a critically ill patient in Los Palos who urgently needed to be flown to the national hospital in Dili. Traveling by land from Los Palos to Dili would take approximately 4–5 hours, which would be extremely difficult and risky for 77-year-old Mr Jose Mateus in his critical condition. Our successful medevac flight took approximately 45 minutes - the safest and fastest option to bring him to Dili for further treatment.
During one of our regular ‘Closing the Loop’ team visits to the hospital, we found that Mr Jose was being cared for in the ICU/emergency department. He has prostate cancer with pulmonary (lung) metastasis and remains in a critical condition. Please join us in praying for Jose's recovery, and for strength and comfort for him and his family during this difficult time.

22/05/2026

WE ARE HIRING. We're looking for a Communications Officer to join our team in Dili.
Do you love uncovering real life stories that deserve to be told? The kind that start on a remote airstrip and end up inspiring people around the world? Then this might be your next chapter.
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) uses light aircraft to deliver help, hope, and healing in more than 30 developing countries. For over 75 years, we’ve flown patients, relief workers, and essential supplies into places where flying is not a luxury but a lifeline. In Timor-Leste, we’ve been serving since 2007. Since the UN departed in 2012, MAF has remained the only provider of a vital air ambulance service, transporting sick and injured people from remote districts to the capital, Dili.
Now, we’re looking for a full time Communications Officer to help tell these stories and share the impact.
If you're interested to apply for the role, go to mafint.org, select Serve With Us, Search Vacancies and apply online. Enquiries via Messenger/phone will not be accepted.

20/05/2026

For 30 years, Manuel Pereira has served as a nurse on Atauro Island. He spoke of the challenging time before MAF came to offer life-changing medical evacuation flights.

“When there was no MAF, we relied entirely on boats for transportation,” said Manuel Pereira, head of the health centre in Atauro Island. “When the sea was rough, the boats could not travel at all. Even when the sea was calm, the journey still took a long time," he said.

“Sometimes the journey took so long that patients sadly passed away while still at sea. There were also times when the sea conditions were too rough, making it impossible to evacuate patients."

Manuel explained that during those moments, they could only do their best with the limited resources available to try to save the patients while waiting for the sea to become calm.

MAF began operations in Timor-Leste in 2007 and helped to reopen the Atauro airstrip. In close partnership with the Ministry of Health, MAF
provides medical evacuation services to communities all across the nation, flying an average of one medevac almost every day.

It is very good that MAF is operating in Atauro. MAF can help patients very quickly,” Manuel said.

13/05/2026

Double medevac keeps two teenagers’ hopes alive when a motorbike crash threatened to derail a student’s final year of school – and a footballer’s future – until urgent MAF flights made treatment possible.

For 19-year-old Cristiano Monis Martins, his year was meant to end with graduation. A Year 12 student from Maliana, Timor-Leste, Cristiano was preparing for his final exams when a routine trip with his best friend, Vincencio Cardoso, ended in a serious accident.

MAF and the ambulance team arranged an urgent transfer for Cristiano and Vincencio from Maliana to Dili, aiming to spare them a three-hour ambulance ride over uncomfortable roads.

For Cristiano, the 22-minute flight made all the difference.
“If it weren’t for the MAF plane – and I had to come by ambulance or car, I would rather just choose to die in Maliana – because there was no way I would reach Dili alive by road,” he said.

Vincencio shares that gratitude.
“I feel grateful for the MAF plane,” he said. “I would not be good without the MAF plane.”

See the full story here: https://timorleste.mafint.org/news/2026-graduation-jeopardy-double-medevac-keeps-two-teenagers-hopes-alive

22/04/2026

When the local hospital told Marcelino that either his wife or newborn might not survive without urgent help, hope arrived in the form of a small MAF aircraft.

“It was after midnight when the doctor told us that an operation was badly needed to save both my wife and our baby,” Marcelino said. In the middle of the night, he had woken to find his wife Amonia de Lima in premature labour.

“If it were not for the MAF plane,” he said, “it would be like the old days when we had to travel by bus or ambulance when there was no plane — and maybe baby Amonia or my wife might not have made it.”

15/04/2026

“I think what we do as a team is really helpful for the Timorese people,” said Inggrid Pinto I, MAF’s hospital chaplain in Dili. “Because MAF does not just help to bring them here to the hospital, but we also give them care and support.

“Sometimes we might think it’s not a big deal, but we can see that, for the patient, especially in their difficult situation, what we do is so meaningful to them. MAF do more than bring people to the hospital.”

Inggrid took on the chaplaincy role in 2024 after studying public health in Indonesia.

After providing an initial ‘care pack’ of essentials on arrival, Inggrid and other MAF staff make weekly visits to patients and their families who have been flown to the national capital. These chaplaincy visits include further practical gifts and an opportunity to chat and pray with patients together with their families.

08/04/2026

In Timor-Leste, our team flies hundreds of people to hospital each year, with almost-daily requests for help. But the ministry of MAF doesn’t end when patients get to the capital – MAF’s 'Closing the Loop' programme helps them get home again.

This programme allows medevac patients like Francisco and their families to return to their home villages for the cost of a boat or bus fare, thanks to donor support. For patients recovering from recent surgery at Timor-Leste’s national hospital, or those still needing further treatment, the comfort and speed of a flight means a lot.

See the full story here https://buff.ly/phHSMsF

Endereço

Dili

Telefone

+67075151515

Website

http://www.mafint.org/

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