The nation airline, Maldivian’s more recently acquired ATR aircraft made its maiden flight to Gan International Airport in Addu City on Saturday evening, 21st January.
Maldivian’s new ATR 72-600 aircraft landed at Gan at around 17:45hrs on Saturday. The airline launched its new ATR flight operations with new in-flight services including additional food options during trips.
The ATR-72 planes have a passenger capacity of 70, and comes equipped with the latest turboprop engines. The airline reports the new ATR variants require 20% less maintenance cost compared to Maldivian’s older Dash-8 models. Additionally, these planes require 3% less fuel compared to the Twin-Otters.
Maldivian has used Dash-8 planes for nearly 20 years, while most of these require heavy maintenance owing to old age. The airline faced scheduling difficulties due to plane delays, which were caused due to flights being grounded for repairs and maintenance.
The airline said its new ATR models will reduce flight operation interruptions. Maldivian earlier acquired two ATR 72-600s which arrived in early January 2023.
A third and final ATR-42 is expected to arrive late this month.