Emirates, one of the largest airlines in the world, celebrated three decades of operations to the Maldives on Wednesday.
A special ceremony was held at Velana International Airport (VIA) early Wednesday which kicked off with a water salute for an Emirates flight that landed around 7:30 a.m. Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL)’s Managing Director Adil Moosa and top officials of the Emirates’ office in the Maldives attended the ceremony.
Speaking at the celebration, MD Adil declared that Emirates have played a large role in the success of Maldivian tourism since it commenced operations to the archipelago in 1987. He also noted that Emirates started out with biweekly flights which has now been doubled.
Adil went on to highlight that the government is working to develop VIA as a world standard airport and stressed the significance of partnerships with airlines such as the Emirates to achieve this feat.
Emirates’ Country Manager in the Maldives also spoke at the ceremony. He noted that the airline began flights to the island nation in a Boeing 727 aircraft 30 years ago which has since been replaced with the state-of-the-art Boeing 777.
He also expressed pride over the Emirates’ status as one of the greatest contributors to tourism in the Maldives, highlighting that the airline carries passengers from six continents to the Maldives in addition to working with various international tour operators.
Sign In