Velana International Airport (VIA) has recorded 147 aircraft movements on 11th October 2020. This sets a new high air traffic movements on a single day since the border reopening on 15th July 2020. According to Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), the airport recorded 30 runway movements and 108 seaplane movements.
According to MACL’s passenger traffic performance statistics, 13,487 international arrivals were recorded in September 2020. Furthermore, 11,186 and 2,890 international arrivals were recorded in August and July, respectively. September saw 426 international ATMs, while July and August witnessed 200 and 448 ATMs, respectively. A tweet by MACL stated that traffic is building up slowly and steadily at Velana International Airport.
MACL has also announced British Airways will restart its operations to the Maldives from 17th October 2020. The airline will operate 3 scheduled flights a week straight from London Heathrow. The addition of British Airways scheduled flights will assist the Maldives increase tourist arrivals from the UK. Likewise, the UK is amongst the top 10 source markets for the Maldives’ tourism industry. Before the lockdown in March, a total of 7,288 visitors from the UK arrived in the Maldives this year. Meanwhile, 625 tourists arrived from the UK in September 2020, making it the 4th highest performing market in terms of tourist arrivals.
Tourist arrivals from various markets have been increasing significantly since the border reopening. In addition to the marketing activities hosted by MMPRC, privately-owned Resort Life Travel has also been running various campaigns to promote the island nation. The company has been running ‘Project FOMO’, a viral marketing campaign focused on bouncing back from the loss COVID-19 has taken on the Maldivian economy.
Also read: Maldives Records 9,538 Tourist Arrivals in September 2020
According to the tourist arrival figures from the Maldives Immigration, the island archipelago has welcomed over 18,867 arrivals since the border reopening. The Maldives has also recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals on a single-day since the border reopening, with over a thousand arrivals on 2nd October 2020.
