Maldives' flag carrier adds fourth ATR to fleet
Island Aviation has also decided to dry lease an Airbus A330 for international flights.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
The fourth ATR aircraft, which will be added to the national carrier Maldivian’s fleet as part of its expansion and modernization project, arrived in the Maldives on Wednesday.
A special ceremony was held at the VIA in reception of the aircraft. The aircraft was given a water salute at the ceremony.
The aircraft brought to Maldivian on Wednesday is an ATR 42-600. Currently, Maldivian has:
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Two ATR-72 600s brought in January
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An ATR-42 600 brought in April
The decision to convert all of its aircraft to ATR was taken due to the ageing and high maintenance costs of the Dash-8 aircrafts used by the airline. In 2021, Dash-8 production was halted too, due to lack of orders by its parent company De Havilland Canada.
Island Aviation Services (IAS), the company which operates the ‘Maldivian’ airline, had previously addressed the production issues and said that the Dash-8 aircraft’s spare parts have been difficult to obtain.
Maldivian Airline has announced plans to sell nine aircrafts from its Dash-8 fleet within the next two years.
Maldivian Airline has brought its fourth ATR aircraft to its fleet and signed an agreement with ATR to buy two more ATR aircraft during the Singapore Airshow in Singapore last February.
After that:
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Last September, two ATR 42-600s were ordered
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Now, Maldivian Airlines aims to have 8 ATR aircrafts in its operation
Island Aviation has also decided to dry lease an Airbus A330 for international flights.
President Muizzu's cabinet had decided to bring two wide-body aircrafts to the national airline to expand its flights to tourist destinations.
Maldivian Fleet:
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Airbus A320 aircraft
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4 ATR aircrafts
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9 Dash-8 aircrafts
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Twin Otter 11 Seaplanes
