Fuvahmulah, Kaadedhdhoo and Hanimaadhoo Airport to be Closed Every Night
Transfers in The Maldives
04 April, 2020
Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has announced that regional airports: Fuvahmulah Airport, Kaadedhdhoo Airport and Hanimaadhoo International Airport will temporarily cease its 24 operations.
Effective 1st April, these airports will operate from 0600hrs to 1800hrs everyday.
The Ministry informs that this is due to the decrease in number of flights with regard to the travel bans.
However, if a flight has to be landed for a medical purpose or for seeking assistance, the airport will accommodate those unscheduled cases. The airlines have to seek approval from the airport three hours before landing.
In efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic Maldives has suspended issuing on-arrival visas and banned tourists arrival to the country from 27th March which has led to a decrease in the number of passengers to the domestic flights as well.
Maldives, the most dispersed country on the planet with 1,192 islands spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres, has 14 airports, including four international airports. The government has contracted both local and international companies to develop additional domestic airports across the archipelago in a bid to boost tourism.
The Maldives has enforced a blanket suspension of on-arrival visa in a bid to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Even before the visa suspension, the Maldives had closed its borders to arrivals from some of the worst-hit countries, including mainland China, Italy, Bangladesh, Iran, Spain, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Visitors from three regions of Germany (Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg), two regions of France (Île-de-France and Grand Est) and two regions of South Korea were also banned from entering the country.
All direct flights to and from China, Italy, South Korea and Iran were also cancelled.
Cruise ships and foreign yachts were also banned from docking at any of the country’s ports.
The coronavirus outbreak has hit the Maldivian economy hard, as travel restrictions and other preventive measures affect the country’s lucrative tourism industry, which contributes the bulk of the island nation’s state revenue and foreign reserves.
Before the pandemic, the government had been bullish about tourism prospects, targeting two million, high-spending holidaymakers this year after last year’s record 1.7 million.
However, tourist arrivals saw a year-over-year decline of 22.8 per cent in the first 10 days of March. Officials say the number of tourist arrivals to the Maldives could drop by half in 2020.
With arrival numbers falling and the visa suspension in effect, several resorts across the Maldives had been closed.
Tourism has been the bedrock of the Maldives’ economic success. The $5 billion-dollar economy grew by 6.7 per cent in 2018 with tourism generating 60 per cent of foreign income.
However, the government is at present projecting a possible 5.7 per cent economic contraction this year — an estimated $778 million hit.
On March 8, Maldives reported its first cases of the novel coronavirus, as two hotel employees tested positive for Covid-19 at a luxury resort in the archipelago.
Seventeen more cases — all foreigners working or staying resorts and liveaboard vessels except four Maldivians who had returned from the United Kingdom — were later identified.
However, 13 out of the 17 have made full recoveries. The four Maldivian patients are being treated at designated quarantine facilities, whilst the other two had been repatriated to their home country of Italy.
The Maldives announced a state of public health emergency on March 12, the first such declaration under a recent public health protection law.
The public health emergency declaration has allowed the government to introduce a series of unprecedented restrictive and social distancing measures, including a partial curfew in capital Male and its suburbs, and a nationwide closing of schools, colleges and universities. Non-essential services and public places in the capital such as gyms, cinemas and parks have also been shut.
Restaurants and cafes in the capital have been asked to stop dine-in service and switch to takeaway and delivery.
A nationwide shutdown of all guesthouses, city hotels and spa facilities located on inhabited islands is also in effect.
Transfers in The Maldives
Transfers to / from the hotel usually do not fill most of us with fun, but in the Maldives everything is different. Forget about the long taxi trip from the airport, the unique location of this island nation means that to get your exclusive resort you will need to make a sea cruise or flight. A domestic flight, speedboat or seaplane transfer – depending on where your resort is located – to get you out to your island paradise. Most resorts will assist you in booking these transfers and for some it may be included in the price. Read More.
Beach or Water Villa?
Maldives - a name that became synonymous with honeymooners' paradise in the tourism world, has slowly revamped to cater to the needs of families visiting
Read MoreBest Maldives Resort Offers & Packages
Find out more about the most unparalleled Maldives hotel deals and special rates, when Book Direct your next beach holiday
Read MoreMaldives Hotel Reviews
Some of the best hotels and resorts in the Maldives are already included in this list, and the good part of them offers the best prices. We will constantly add new hotels
Read More10 Exclusive Resorts in Maldives
The Maldives is paradise destination that should be on the bucket list of every discerning travelers. There's a special breed of hotels there that cater to the most tasteful of luxury travelers Read More
Newest Maldives resorts to Explore in 2024
Here are just 10 of the amazing new resorts in the Maldives that are set to welcome guests Read More
10 Most Affordable Water Villas
While it may never be cheap to visit thу Maldives, fortunately there are still some chic and relatively affordable overwater villas you can stay. Read more
Maldives Luxury Guide
Here's the best of Maldives for luxury travellers. We've compiled the finest recommendations of places to stay, ranging from the most celebrated five-star resorts to luxurious private islands Read More
Maldives Romantic Guide
The ultimate ‘flop and drop' and honeymoon destination, the Maldives is the playground for the most amazing and finest utilization of each second of this extremely valuable and hopeful time with each other in tota Read More
Maldives Budget Guide
Budget travellers choose Maldives as their destination of choice thanks to the variety of affordable stays Read More
Maldives Family Guide
Maldives - a name that became synonymous with honeymooners' paradise in the tourism world, has slowly Read More
Maldives Diving Guide
The life of these paradise islands below the Indian Ocean's level is the main draw attracting thousands of divers Read More