Maldives’ FlyMe to debut scheduled int’l ops

FlyMe (Maldives) (VP, Malé) is to commence scheduled international passenger flights on September 29 with a twice-weekly service between Maamigili, in the Indian Ocean archipelago, and Bangalore Int’l, India, managing director Abdulla Nashid has confirmed to ch-aviation.

The Maldivian private airline, which has a fleet of four Avions de Transport Régional turboprops, to date, has run domestic inter-island schedules between the capital Malé, Dharavandhoo island, and Maamigili island. As reported previously, it also has operated international charters before between Malé and Colombo Int’l, Sri Lanka.

The airline, part of the Villa Group, operates one ATR42-500 leased from Montrose Global; two ATR72-500s leased from Nordic Aviation Capital, and one ATR72-600 leased from GOAL, according to ch-aviation fleets advanced data.

To promote the flight in India, Flyme has appointed the Nijhawan Group as its General Sales Agent (GSA) in that country, reported The India Times.

Nijhawan Group director Priyanka Nijhawan said India had become the number one passenger source market for the Maldives. This was echoed by Nashid: “Maldives has risen in popularity with Indian travellers, and with a GSA in the country, FlyMe is gearing up to provide visitors with an opportunity to fly directly to the islands of the Maldives. With this partnership, we aim to position FlyMe as a leading air transport provider for the Maldives and support the economy of the country through developing a better aviation route,” he said.