Maldivian welcomed its 15th aircraft to its fleet today, a 42 seater ATR aircraft which arrived from Toulouse, France. The airline revealed that the four ATRs have cost over MVR 1 billion.
Maldives' flag carrier, Maldivian Aero has brought its fourth Avions de Transport Régional (ATR) aircraft to the country today, having spent over MVR 1 billion (nearly USD64.7 million) on all four of the French-Italian plane model.
The plane landed in Velana International Airport at around 5:10 pm in the evening. The plane which was flown from Toulouse, France by Captains Mohamed Mubah and Ali Yanish with engineer Ahmed Abdul Latheef was welcomed with a water salute upon landing in the capital's airport.
A special ceremony was also held to commemorate the addition of the new aircraft, participated by Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen and Minister of Cities, Local Governance and Public Works Adam Shareef Umar.
Speaking at the event, Transport Minister Ameen said that today marks a happy occasion in the country's aviation industry and that the addition of this new aircraft would further expand the airline's services. He also added that the Maldivian government heavily prioritises the wellbeing of Maldivian, highlighting that it covers 90 percent of the country's domestic air travel.
"Our administration's biggest aim when we took over the government was to provide solutions for all the issues faced by Maldivian, and for the airline's planes to even fly over to other countries outside of Maldives," the minister said.
Minister Ameen further added that while efforts are underway at high speed to lease a wide-body aircraft required for international flights, the agreements are expected to be signed very soon.
Maldivian has confirmed that this would be a 275 passenger aircraft which they expect to bring to the country by the end of this year.
This comes after the announcement that Maldivian will receive two wide-body aircrafts to commence operations to seven new destinations.
Managing Director of Maldivian's parent company Island Aviation Ibrahim Iyas, speaking at the ceremony as well, revealed that bringing the four ATRs has cost MVR 1 billion (nearly USD64.7 million). He recognised the assistance provided by the Ministry of Finance in making this possible, highlighting the financial hit the company took owing to Covid-19.
Speaking on the improvement of service this aircraft would bring to the airline, Iyas said that the modern aircrafts added to the fleet would improve the services provided to passengers by multiple fold.
"This will be a satisfaction to all our customers - and we receive this same feedback even now. With the addition of modern aircrafts, we are able to significantly improve our on-time performance as well," he said revealing that data suggests a 14 percent improvement in on-time performance of the airline since the first three ATRs were introduced.
Continuing with his announcements, Iyas said that as the airline celebrates the arrival of its fourth ATR, an order of three additional ATRs has been placed. Out of the three, two are scheduled to arrive towards the end of the year, while the third is expected to arrive in early 2025.
With this, the plan is to have an all ATR fleet operating domestic flights in the country, he explained.
ATR's subsidiary company Eastern Support (AES)'s Managing Director Alessandro Luzi said that the company started working with Maldivian two years ago, and that the opportunity for AES to participate in Maldives' aviation industry is a delight.
He also assured that the new ATR addition to Maldivian's fleet is equipped with the most modern aviation facilities.
With this, Maldivian's fleet now stands at 15 aircrafts strong, including an Airbus A320, multiple Dash aircrafts, two 42-seater ATRs and two 72-seater ATRs.
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