The first A350 from Qatar Airways is expected to land on October 30, kicking off the prime season of tourist visitors to Maldives.
While speaking at the ceremony held at Velana International Airport (VIA) on Wednesday to open new baggage belt and check-in gates at the airport premises, VIA operator Maldives Airports Company Limited's (MACL) Managing Director Adil Moosa said Qatar Airways is set to commence flights of their A350 brand, kicking off the peak tourist season.
This marks the first time ever an A350 of Qatar Airways is set for regular operations back and forth Maldives.
"I would like to highlight that this flight would be the first of its kind operating in this region and that is a significant boost to Maldives and our tourism sector," Moosa said.
The peak season for tourist visitors to Maldives is conventionally marked from October lasting til March.
In the meantime several key airlines from the European peninsula are expected to commence their flight operations to Maldives with regulars every week. Some of the major players include Air France and Italy's homegrown Alitalia.
MACL expects an estimated 10 flight per day at Maldives during the winter solstice to the Europe.
Statistics indicate that 2017's current run had registered a total of 892,025 visitors to Maldives by August end, while last year's count was at 842,635 for the same period resulting in a 5.9% bump in tourist visit rate.
Meanwhile government had estimated 1.3 million tourists will visit the Maldives in 2017.
