Maldivian (Q2, Malé) has wet-leased an ATR72-500 from Swiftair (WT, Madrid Barajas) to boost capacity over the peak Christmas / New Year tourist season while waiting for delayed aircraft deliveries from ATR - Avions de Transport Régional (ATR). EC-KKQ (msn 0763) was reportedly supplied by ATR after the scheduled October deliveries of two ATR72-600s and one ATR42-600 were pushed back by production lines glitches.

According to ADS-D tracking, EC-KKQ was ferried to Malé over three days, arriving on November 14. The plane left Madrid on November 12 and flew via Naples Capodichino, Cairo International, Muscat, and Mumbai International. On November 16, the aircraft entered into service for Maldivian, flying five domestic sectors that day.

"We have added an ATR 72-500 on wet-lease to our fleet," said Mohamed Rishan, a network planning and revenue management specialist Maldivian. "It will cater for the coming festive and local holiday season before we take the delivery of our three brand new ATRs in late December. The new addition will be deployed to most of our dense sectors."

Maldivian, which flies to 19 airports across the Maldives, Bangladesh, and India, operates a fleet of 22 aircraft, including EC-KKQ. As well as the ATR, data from the ch-aviation fleets module reveals the fleet includes one A320-200; eleven DHC-6-200s; one DHC-8-200; DHC-8-Q200; and seven DHC-8-Q300s. In early October, the airline put most of its Dash 8-200/300s up for sale as part of its fleet renewal process.

Maldivian deputy managing director Aishath Jennifer told Malé-based media this week that the stopgap plans so far only include the one wet-leased ATR but there are contingency provisions for additional aircraft if the December deliveries fail to materialise. The airline also expects another three ATRs across 2023, taking the total planned ATR fleet to six.

Meanwhile, Maldivian will commence a 3x weekly service from December 1 to the new Faresmathoda airport operated with its fleet of Dash 8s, although the new airport is yet to open. The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) is hoping to have the facility, located in the southern Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll, in operation before the end of the year. The main construction of the airport has been completed with the 800m causeway now in progress. The project involved land reclamation of 9,780 sqm, the construction of a 1,200m runway as well as the approach road from the village. The project is valued at MVR144,88 million rufiyaa (USD9.4 million)

The islands of Fares and Maathoda were originally separated until they were joined by the reclamation of the shallow water passage between them and up to now passengers had to rely on ferry services from either Gan Island or Fuvahmulah airports.