Fly Tiwi is an Australian airline based in

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the small ...

, offering scheduled passenger services between the Northern Territory capital and communities located on the Tiwi, South Goulburn and Croker islands, as well as a number of remote

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Company ...

communities. The company is wholly owned by the Hardy Aviation group, Australia's largest general aviation company and was founded in 2008 in association with the

Tiwi Land Council The Tiwi Land Council is a land council in the Northern Territory of Australia established in 1978 to represent Aboriginal Australians living on the Tiwi Islands The Tiwi Islands ( tiw, Ratuati Irara meaning "two islands") are part of the No ...

and now operates over 50 flights per week between 8 destinations.

History

Schedules services under the 'Fly Tiwi' brand commenced in November 2008, offering flights on routes between Darwin and Nguiu on Bathurst Island and connecting Darwin with Pirlangimpi and Milikapiti on Melville Island several times per day. In January 2009 a third route was added providing daily services to South Goulburn Island and the community of Minjilang on Croker Island, and in May began services to Ramingining three times per week, adding a fifth route to Gapuwiyak twice per week in early 2010. Fly Tiwi, since 2017, has been servicing these routes daily from Monday to Friday. On 29 June 2010, Fly Tiwi inaugurated services to

Tennant Creek Tennant Creek ( wrm, Jurnkkurakurr) is town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the seventh largest town in the Northern Territory, and is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western termi ...

twice per week, but has since discontinued this service. From mid-2017, Fly Tiwi added another route servicing the community of the Milingimbi Island, which it also services Monday to Friday. Fly Tiwi is a major sponsor of the Tiwi Bombers Football Club, providing air transport for the team to travel to Darwin to compete in the

Northern Territory Football League The Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) is an Australian rules football semi-professional league operating in Darwin in the Northern Territory. The league is one of few (and the highest level) Australian Rules competitions played during ...

competition since 2010. In February 2012, Fly Tiwi was one of a number of aviation companies that participated with the

Northern Territory Police The Northern Territory Police Force is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1,537 police members (as at 31 July 2019) made up of 79 senior sergeants, 228 sergeants, 839 co ...

in 'Operation Bristol', a crackdown on the trafficking of illegal drugs to remote communities which resulted in the seizure of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

and

kava Kava or kava kava ('' Piper methysticum'': Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name ''kava'' is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ''ʻawa'' (Hawaiʻi ...

with an estimated street value of over $300,000.

Destinations

As of 2019, Fly Tiwi offers services to the following destinations: *

Darwin Darwin may refer to: Common meanings * Charles Darwin (1809–1882), English naturalist and writer, best known as the originator of the theory of biological evolution by natural selection * Darwin, Northern Territory, a territorial capital city i ...

Wurrumiyanga Wurrumiyanga (), formerly Nguiu (, ), is a community on the southern coast of Bathurst Island, Northern Territory, Australia. Nguiu was founded in 1911 as a Catholic mission by Francis Xavier Gsell. In 2010 Nguiu was renamed Wurrumiyanga, ...

(Bathurst Island) * Minjilang (Croker Island) *

Garden Point Pirlangimpi, formerly Garden Point, is a populated place on Melville Island in the Northern Territory, Australia. History Pirlangimpi lies from the site of the first British settlement in northern Australia, the short-lived Fort Dundas. The p ...

(Melville Island) * Gapuwiyak (Lake Evella) * Milingimbi Island * Ramingining * Milikapiti (Snake Bay) * Warruwi (South Goulburn Island) * Maningrida Flights to and from Darwin International Airport operate out of a dedicated Fly Tiwi terminal located adjacent to the

General Aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation service ...

apron.

Fleet

Fly Tiwi scheduled flights are operated using aircraft drawn from Hardy Aviation's fleet of 32. Typically, twin piston engine, 10 seat

Cessna 402 The Cessna 401 and 402 are a series of 6 to 10 seat, light twin-piston engine aircraft. This line was manufactured by Cessna from 1966 to 1985 under the name Utiliner and Businessliner.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ''A Field Guide to Airplane ...

and

404 404 may refer to: * 404 (number) * AD 404 * 404 BC * HTTP 404, the HTTP error response status for "Not Found" Cars * Peugeot 404 * Bristol 404, produced in the 1950s * Unimog 404 Highways * A404(M) motorway, in England * Ontario Highway 40 ...

types are used for regular services. Single-engine Cessna 208B Caravan are also utilised for regular services. The fleet also includes pressurised Fairchild Metro and Cessna 441s, used for longer routes, as well as a number of smaller types that can operate charters for Fly Tiwi.

References

External links

{{Airlines of Australia Airlines established in 2008 Australian companies established in 2008 Airlines of Australia Regional airlines Companies based in Darwin, Northern Territory

History

Destinations

Fleet

See also

References

External links