Malé, Maldives – Two ATR 72-600 aircraft, new additions to the fleet of Maldivian out of the three brand new aircraft for the national airline, have arrived today.
The two planes landed at the Velana International Airport at 4:00 pm today. Vice President Faisal Naseem attended the water salute ceremony to welcome the new crafts.
Island Aviation Marketing and PR Executive Ahmed Mushil Sobah told local media that the two ATR 72-600 aircraft have a capacity of 70 passengers.
Maldivian’s ATRs will be fitted with the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127XT engines, the development of which was unveiled at the Dubai air show in 2021.
National Airline “Maldivian” acquires its first ATR aircrafts
According to Maldivian, the new aircrafts will result in 3% reduction in fuel consumption and a 20% reduction in maintenance costs, along with the ability to use sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
The national airline currently has a fleet of eight aircraft with a capacity of 50 passengers, and 2 aircraft with 37 passenger seats. There are also a total of 11 seaplane and one Airbus.
Maldivian also placed an order for one ATR 42-600 which was initially scheduled to be delivered within the first quarter of 2023. However, the national airline later stated that it was difficult to give an exact date at the moment.
