The airliner, Air Sanga, operating out of Maprik Hayfield Airstrip, has switched from the nine passenger aircraft single engine to a twin otter 18 passenger aircraft.
This is due to the increase in demand for flights in and out of the district.
Ground operations manager John Eri said passengers come from all over the Central Sepik region and even from West Sepik; most of whom are vanilla buyers or farmers.
Eri said these vanilla entrepreneurs were grateful for the airline service, which has made business easier for them.
The airline also acknowledged the local member and the DDA Board who took up the initiative to provide this service to their people and at the same time, benefit the airline.
In a separate statement, local member John Simon said the response for this service would be adequate considering the recent status of the economy not only in the district but the whole of the central region of East Sepik Province.
He also revealed that since starting their operations, the largest passenger flight they had made was during a church conference in Vanimo last week.
“The single engine aircraft had to make flights for 30 passengers to and from Vanimo,” he said.
Air Sanga provides charter services however, since starting its operation last month with subsidized flights out of Maprik, which were met by the district, the operations have since picked up.
The 19 passenger twin otter engine may carry only 15 to 16 passengers, while the other seats will be used for cargo and baggage.
The rations manager also noted that they may also be considering looking at chartered flights once it seems appropriate.
At the moment passengers travelling out of Maprik to Vanimo are charged K500 per head for adults and K250 for children, whilst chartered flights for the twin engine and the single engine are charged at K800 and K7,700 per hour.