Luxury resort operator Soneva Holdings is planning to launch its own shuttle flights in the Maldives with a single DHC-6-200 in mid-December 2018, eTurboNews has reported.
The Maldivian company plans to deploy the aircraft, 1967 vintage N94MG (msn 45), between the international gateway at Malé and its two resorts in Baa Atoll and Noonu Atoll. The aircraft, previously in operation with Croatia's European Coastal Airlines, has been fully refurbished and currently seats just 10 passengers in VIP configuration. It will be operated on Soneva's behalf by Trans Maldivian Airways (TMW, Malé).
The Maldives is a busy Twin Otter market - the turboprops are used to ferry passengers between Malé and luxury resorts located at outlying islands without own commercial airports. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, there are sixty-two DHC-6s in all variants from -100s to -400s in service with Maldivian (Q2, Malé) and Trans Maldivian Airways.
