By the year’s end, 11 additional airlines will be operating to the Maldives, according to the Ministry of Tourism.
As per the latest information released by the Ministry, after the border closure and reopening in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maldives now has 15 airlines operating flights to the country. Within November and December, Maldives will see an additional 11 airlines operating flights to the country.
The airlines include Ukraine International Airlines (UAI), Azur Air Ukraine, Nordwind, Azur Air Russia, Air Seychelles, Air Asia, Alitalia, Air France, Korean Air, Gulf Air, and Neos Air.
From those airlines, Gulf Air will begin operations starting from 12th December. Air Seychelles is set to fly to Maldives during the holiday season, from 4th December to 9th January.
Airlines that have already begun operations in Maldives include British Airways, Edelweiss, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, FlyDubai, Emirates, Etihad Airways, GoAir, IndiGo, Air India, Sri Lankan Airlines, Aeroflot, and Spice Jet.
Maldives opened 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: Velana International Airport
