Maldives flagship carrier Maldivian has received the Airlines Reliability Performance Award for Outstanding Dispatch Reliability from Bombardier Inc for the fifth time.

In an announcement, Maldivian said the award was won in the Oceania category.

“It is a great honour to be selected for such an award, especially from a number of competitors in the Oceania region that fly Dash 8 model aircrafts,” the announcement read.

The Airline Reliability Performance Awards recognise operators of Bombardier CRJ Series regional jets and Q Series turboprops who achieve the highest rates of dispatch reliability. It is presented to the airline that holds their dispatch reliability at the 99 percent mark, with a minimum of technical faults throughout the year.

Maldivian currently operates a fleet of two Dash8-200 series aircrafts, seven Dash8-300 series aircrafts, and an Airbus 320 and another Airbus 321 aircraft. The Dash aircrafts are primarily used for domestic operations while the two Airbus aircrafts service the airline’s international routes.

The state owned airline operates flights to all the 10 domestic airports across the Maldives, and runs international operations to South Asian neighbours India and Bangladesh, and far Eastern countries such as Thailand and China.

Maldivian is in the process of purchasing an additional DHC-8-300 aircraft, and leasing an Airbus A321 and an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

The recent fleet expansion by the Maldives’ flagship carrier is in line with its plans to boost operations to major tourist markets such as Europe and China, and neighbouring Sri Lanka. Maldivian announced at the recently concluded ITB Berlin fair that it had initiated negotiations with three European companies to expand flight operations to Europe.