Three Papua New Guinean landowner companies have acquired three new ATR42-600s and will lease them to PNG Air (CG, Port Moresby), according to a government press release. The aircraft will be contracted to holding company Ok Tedi Mining and will replace the airline's ageing DHC-8-100 fleet.

The aircraft are being acquired through three Ok Tedi Mining shareholder companies: Mineral Resources Star Mountain, Mineral Resources Ok Tedi, and Mineral Resources CMCA. Ok Tedi Mining currently contracts fly-in/fly-out charters using three DHC-8-100s and a DHC-6-400 operated by Pacific Direct and Hevilift (PNG), respectively.

Mineral Resources Development Company (MRDC) managing director Augustine Mano said PNG Air will manage the turboprops under a long-term lease. The press release noted the first ATR42-600 departed ATR - Avions de Transport Régional's Toulouse facility on May 20.

ADS-B data shows that P2-ATT (msn 1804) was ferried from Toulouse Francazal to Port Moresby, via multiple stops in Europe and Asia, between May 20 and May 26, 2026. The aircraft carries a standard PNG Air livery. In a social media statement, the airline confirmed that the aircraft is owned by "Ok Tedi Mining Ltd (OTML) landowners [and] will be managed and flown by PNG Air across our network."

Mano said the new aircraft will replace the airline's Dash 8s, which have an average age of 40 years, per ch-aviation data. He added that other landowner companies are expected to acquire three additional aircraft in the future.

"This is history because, for the first time, landowners are buying aircraft directly from the factory and leasing them to a major airline company under a long-term arrangement," Mano said.

It is unclear whether this MRDC transaction overlaps with PNG Air's previously announced ATR orderbook. The airline took delivery of the first of three ATR42-600s on its direct order, P2-ATU (msn 1216), on May 10, 2026.

ch-aviation has reached out to PNG Air for additional details.

PNG Air's fleet consists of 16 aircraft: one ATR42-600, nine ATR72-600s, one inactive ATR72-600C, four DHC-8-100s (one of which is inactive), and one inactive DHC-8-100(PF). The airline plans to expand its total ATR fleet to approximately 18 aircraft.