Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has stated that all services will be free of charge for all scheduled flights that operate to the Maldives until the end of August.
The Maldives closed its borders on March 27 as a precautionary measure against COVID-19, and are preparing to re-open the country's borders on July 15.
MACL's General Manager Hassan Areef said no fees will be charged for any services provided to all scheduled flights arriving between July 15 and August 31. Fees will be incurred only in the event the flights require refuelling, said Areef.
"This discount is available only for scheduled [commercial] flights and scheduled charter flights. It is not applicable on private jets," said Areef.
MACL has made the decision to offer several discounts when the airport reopens to scheduled flights in July. Discounts between 50 to 100 percent will be offered on ground handling services, landing fees, navigation fees and parking fee.
MACL said the discounts are categorized into three phases, and that the discounts will be offered on flights landing at the airport during the specified dates. In this regard, while no charges will be incurred between July 15 and August 31, a 75 percent discount will be offered to flights that land between September 1 and October 27. A discount of 50% will be applied on flights arriving between October 28 and the same date next year.
The Airports company has revealed that 10 different airlines have requested for slots to land their flights in the Maldives when the borders reopen. The company has issued special guidelines on flight handling under the 'new normal', and has developed the capacity to accomodate a flight every 20 minutes. However, International Arrivals, which has the capacity to cater upto 1,000 passengers will only accommodate 500 passengers under the new normal. The international departure services which previously catered to 1,200 passengers will not serve upto 750 passengers at a time.
