Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen stated that to minimize the disruptions to air travel caused by the closure of airports in Middle Eastern countries due to the war, flights have been operated to five new European destinations over the past few days.
During a press conference held at the President's Office, Ameen said that the negative impact of the Middle Eastern airspace closures is significantly affecting Maldivian tourism. He noted that while 53 flights were scheduled for today alone, 18 of those flights have been canceled.
"Those are entirely flights arriving from Middle Eastern countries," he said.
Minister Ameen stated that 18 flight cancellations in a single day poses a major challenge to the entire sector and, therefore, the government is working with industry stakeholders to minimize the impact.
"During the past three days, five flights have been operated directly from Europe. These are to five destinations not previously traveled to. This is progress," Minister Ameen said.
However, he did not specify which countries these new flights were established with.
Minister Ameen said the government is now working to increase the number of flights currently operating from destinations in Asia, Southeast Asia, and India. He mentioned that they are working to arrange this by providing certain concessions that the government needs to offer.
"We are looking very closely at increasing passenger capacity from the Asian continent," he said.
Minister Ameen stated that among those stranded in the Maldives due to flight cancellations, more than 300 tourists still remain in the country, and some of them have returned to resorts. He also noted that 110 tourists, who were left with no other options, are currently in the airport's special shelter facility.
Following the attacks initiated by Israel and the United States against Iran last Saturday, Iran retaliated by attacking US military bases in various Middle Eastern countries.
Due to the closure of airspace following these attacks, many airline flights traveling to the Maldives were canceled, leaving numerous tourists stranded at Velana International Airport.
