Nearly-Empty, Velana International Airport

Tuesday 14th of April 2020

Nearly-Empty, Deserted Velana International Airport

Due to travel restrictions imposed by countries around the world as a precautionary measure amidst coronavirus pandemic, number of international flights to the Maldives have been cut down to two a day, operator of the island nation’s main airport, Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has said.

The number of scheduled daily international flights had been reduced to two from 40 and domestic flights to five from fifty. “2019 was a successful year, as air traffic movements had a 16 per cent increase and passenger traffic saw a 13 per cent increase. The west apron’s first phase and east apron also opened for operations in 2019. However, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, VIA has been hit hard with fewer flights,” says Moosa Solih, Acting Managing Director of the state-owned MACL.

A night time airport closure is in effect at VIA due to the drop in demand. All the domestic airlines in Maldives except the flagship carrier have suspended passenger operations and gone on stand-by. Further, all international airlines have also suspended scheduled operations to the Maldives, as the island nation enforced a blanket suspension of on-arrival visa in late March in a bid to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.