Fleet Plan News: Airlines PNG adds first ATR72-500

As part of an expansion which will increase the airline's fleet by around 40 per cent, Airlines of Papua New Guinea (aka Airlines PNG) has introduced a single ATR72-500 (reg 9M-TAQ, serial 0875) into service on lease from Malaysian carrier Berjaya Air. The aircraft which the airline indicates is being operated by its own flightcrews, will provide charter flights between Cairns and Lihir island for the mining company Lihir Gold. By the end of this month, Airlines PNG also expects to have taken back on strength its three Bombardier DHC8-100s, which had previously been leased out to Skytrans of Australia. To complete the fleet expansion, Airlines PNG is also adding a third recently acquired de Havilland Twin Otter, and bringing another DHC-6 back into service after major maintenance work.

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