Maldivian suspends Colombo, Bangalore flights amid Airbus maintenance
The aircraft is expected to resume flights by the end of December at the earliest.
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The national airline, Maldivian, has suspended its flights to Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Bangalore, India, after the flight hours of its Airbus A321 aircraft expired, requiring the plane to undergo maintenance.
A Maldivian official confirmed that the airline’s Airbus A321 is currently undergoing annual maintenance work.
The aircraft is expected to resume flights by the end of December at the earliest. The official did not provide a specific date for the resumption of flights to these destinations.
Maldivian launched flights to Colombo last April but has faced operational challenges with the Airbus aircraft since then. Passengers affected by the suspension are being offered alternative options to fly with other airlines or to reschedule their flights, according to the airline representative.
In its expansion plans, Maldivian is in the process of acquiring a wide-body aircraft to enhance its international operations. Transport minister, Mohamed Amin, previously announced that the new wide-body aircraft would start operations this month.
To support this initiative, the cabinet approved a plan to help Maldivian acquire two wide-body aircraft aimed at increasing flights to tourist destinations. As part of this effort, the airline signed an agreement with international aircraft leasing company TrueNoord in July to bring in an Airbus A330-series aircraft.
