National Airline 'Maldivian' is set to commence flights with the new ATR aircrafts recently added to their fleet.

Island Aviation Services Ltd (IASL) said on Friday that the safety inspections have been completed on the new aircrafts and they are ready to begin scheduled flights. As such, the first scheduled flight will take off from Velana International Airport (VIA) to Gan International Airport (GIA) on Saturday evening.

The new ATR 72-600 aircrafts were added to the airline on 4 January 2023 as part of 'Maldivian's plan to phase out the DASH-8 aircrafts.

Maldivian said the airline will also add another ATR 72-400 aircraft to the fleet later this month.

Speaking to the press about the new ATR aircrafts, Deputy Managing Director of IAS Aishath Jennifer said that the new aircrafts will replace the DASH-8 fleet which has been operation for over 20 years. She noted that the addition of the new aircrafts will resolve the scheduling issue faced by 'Maldivian' as well as reduce cost of maintenance.

"With the addition of the brand-new ATR aircrafts, we will not face technical issues that cause delays in flight schedules," Jennifer said.

Jennifer added that the new aircrafts will also enhance the in-flight experience for passengers. With the new addition, 'Maldivian' fleet currently has 13 aircrafts.