The flag carrier of Kazakhstan, Air Astana has commenced direct flights from Almaty to Maldives (Malé) with its first scheduled flight that arrived at Velana International Airport today with 146 tourists.
The airline will operate 3 weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Flights from Almaty to Maldives is operated by its brand-new Airbus 321 neo. These feature 16 lie-flat business class seats and 150 economy class seats. While all seats have in-flight entertainment, business class features a 16-inch screen compared to ten inches in economy.
Air Astana has also announced the decision to operate larger aircraft to the Maldives. This upgrade was made due to high demand from passengers for the upcoming tourism season. As a result, from 16th December till 16th January, the airline will schedule a Wide Body Boeing 767 for Maldives as it can carry more passengers. Previously, Airbus LR 321 was arranged for the operation.
Kazakhstan, largest country in Central Asia. It is bounded on the north by Russia, on the east by China, on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea, and Turkmenistan; the Caspian Sea bounds Kazakhstan to the southwest. Maldives enjoys a vast number of arrivals from this region. The scheduled flights between both countries is expected to boost the number of arrivals in the Maldives.
To book your flight via Air Astana, visit https://airastana.com/kaz/en-us/Plan/Special-Offers/Flights-to-Maldives
Maldives reopened borders to all nationalities from 15th July 2020. All visitors are granted a 30-day free on-arrival visa with a confirmed booking for a stay at any registered tourist facility in the country.
Maldives has also extended ‘Split Stay’ for all types of tourist accommodation facilities, allowing tourists to split their stay between resort, hotels, guesthouses and live aboard boats, with prior approval as per split-stay procedure and guideline by the Ministry of Tourism.
While there is no mandatory quarantine or testing on arrival, tourists traveling to Maldives are required to complete an online health declaration form and provide a negative PCR test result taken at least 96 hours prior to their departure.
The negative PCR test result must be attached while completing Traveler Health Declaration form, which has to be submitted online via IMUGA (www.imuga.immigration.gov.mv), by all arriving passengers before arrival (but not exceeding 24 hours before arrival time).
Featured Image: Maldivian Plane Spotters
