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Maldives welcomes back Gulf Air

Fathmath Shaahunaz
13 December 2020, MVT 18:37
The first flight of Gulf Air to land at VIA after Maldives reopened borders. PHOTO/VIA
Fathmath Shaahunaz
13 December 2020, MVT 18:37

Maldives on Sunday welcomed the first flight of Gulf Air to land at Velana International Airport (VIA) after the island nation reopened borders last July.

Resuming direct flights to Maldives this month, the national carrier of Bahrain will operate twice weekly to VIA on its newest Airbus 321neoLR, which is capable of seating 150 in its economy class and 16 on flat-bed seats on its Falcon Gold class.

Gulf Air is among a number of international airlines that recommenced operations to Maldives after the country reopened borders on July 15, nearly four months since the state halted issuing on-arrival visas on March 27. Guesthouses were permitted to resume operations and kickstart local tourism on October 15.

Although Maldives has noted a significant reduction in tourist arrivals compared to pre-COVID figures, there has been a gradual increase with the establishment of travel bubbles between Maldives and other countries, as well as greater connectivity in terms of flight operations.

Other notable airlines that have resumed flights to Maldives include Qatar Airways, FlyDubai, Lufthansa, British Airways, Azur Air, Silk Air, Air Astana, Aeroflot, and Air India.

On Saturday, Maldives welcomed the 100,000th tourist to the country after the reopening of borders.

The Ministry of Tourism anticipates that the country will end the year with total 500,000 visitors, a steep nosedive from the record 1.7 million tourists that arrived in 2019, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Authorities, however, expect Maldives to reach peak arrival rates during 2021.

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