The national airline of the Maldives, Maldivian has revealed plans to commence direct flights between the Maldives and China.
The airline currently carries out flights to six destinations in China with an Airbus A-321 airplane. Although, since it is not a wide-body aircraft, Maldivian has been carrying out the flights through a transit route. With the newly acquired A330 airplane, Maldivian will be carrying out the new direct flights between Maldives and China.
Managing Director of Maldivian Mohamed Rizvi said to the local media “Sun” that the airline faced difficulties in expanding its operations in China because of the transit routes. However, the new acquisition of A330 will create the opportunity for the airline to increase the number of passengers, reduce fares and add more cities in China to its operations.
“This is the first time that we are acquiring a wide-body aircraft. We are thinking of purchasing the A330 aircraft. Right now, we are going through the process of obtaining the approval of the board. This new development will allow us to expand our operations in China” Rizvi said.
Maldivian currently conducts flights to India, Bangladesh, and China in addition to the local operations.