The newest domestic airline which commenced its operations in November 2018 is set to acquire six seaplanes to its fleet by early 2019.
Speaking at the ceremony to celebrate the airline’s first aircraft flying into Maldives, Manta Aviation’s chief executive officer Mohamed Khaleel noted the seaplanes will be procured by February or March in 2019.
“We are preparing to commence seaplane travel as well. Four of the seaplane crafts are in Canada at the moment and we have already recruited the crew for operations,” Khaleel said.
While the airline’s first 72-seater aircraft landed in Maldives, the airline is gearing up to bring its second aircraft by December 2018.
The new airline’s operations will begin with four seaplanes and three ATR jets, of which one has already been acquired through Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC).
Manta Air is owned by Reollo Investments which is led by Sanjay Ibrahim Maniku, the son of local business tycoon Universal Enterprise’s shareholder Dr. Ibrahim Maniku.
The third domestic airline’s inception comes amid the incumbent government’s efforts to expand the air transport network in Maldives.