The national airline, Maldivian, has decided to hold an air show to welcome its first wide-body aircraft.

Maldivian said today that they have decided to conduct a special air show to welcome their first wide-body aircraft, an Airbus A330, and that the show will be held on the 6th of next month.

The air show is scheduled to take place in Male' and Hulhumale'. The show is set to be held on the 6th of next month from 17:00 to 17:30 at the Usfasgandu area in Male' and the eastern beach areas of Hulhumale' Phase 1 and 2.

The government is assisting Maldivian in acquiring two wide-body aircraft to begin flights to additional international destinations. A cabinet meeting held last December decided to arrange the necessary funds through the Finance Ministry to Island Aviation Services Limited, which operates Maldivian.

Consequently, Maldivian announced in late December last year that they were seeking to lease an Airbus A330-200 aircraft. This is a 406-seat aircraft capable of traveling 7,250 nautical miles. The decision was made to lease the aircraft for a period of five years.

It has been decided that the wide-body aircraft flights starting next month will operate direct routes to regions in China. As such, Maldivian has announced that they will begin direct flights from the Maldives to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Xi'an in China next month.

Previously, Maldivian used two aircraft, Airbus A321 and Airbus A320, for its international flights. Due to the high maintenance costs of the Airbus A321, Maldivian has decided not to extend its lease and has released the aircraft.