The Airbus A321 with the interim registration D-AATB was recently converted into a freighter. The machine should actually have gone to the Ukrainian Windrose Airlines, but this never happened due to the corona pandemic.
The 22,3 year old A321 was bought by the leasing company Vallair in 2018. This has specialized in retrofitting this model - also due to the increased demand for cargo. It is no coincidence that the current D-AATB has arrived in Luqa, because in future it will bear the registration 9H-CGB.
The machine is currently wearing advertising stickers from Vallair, but is to be repainted with the Smartlynx-DHL-Hybrid-Livery. After the usual work that will be carried out before commissioning, Smartlynx Malta will use this A321P2F to transport parcels and other freight on behalf of the logistics group Deutsche Post-DHL.
The Smartlynx Group entered the freight business in the wake of the corona pandemic. This segment is based on the Maltese AOC. Long-term contracts were concluded with DHL, among others.