Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has revealed the ministry is currently studying regional airports that can accommodate private jets.
State Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation Ahmed Zuhair said the ministry is now working on identifying regional airports that meet the aviation guidelines to accommodate private jets as the government plans to reopen borders. Zuhair said only airports that meet the international aviation standards will be permitted to accommodate private jets, adding the government has thus far identified three regional airports that can accommodate private jets. He said further efforts are underway to determine the capacity the airports have to cater to private jets.
The government has previously announced plans to reopen borders this July, if the COVID-19 situation does not worsen in the Maldives. In this regard, the aim of the government is to open the country to private jets and chartered flights first, before commencing scheduled flights.
Noting the country is already receiving proposals from international airlines, the state minister said only airports with a runway length of 1,800 meters or 2,200 metres with medical facilities and social distancing measures will be permitted to accommodate private jets. He said the number of airlines and the number of daily flights will depend largely on how other countries decide to reopen their borders as well. As such, the ministry expects significant changes to air traffic in the coming two or three weeks as borders start opening.
The remarks from the transport ministry came after various stakeholders have also highlighted the importance of utilising domestic airports when tourism reopens in the Maldives instead of using only Velana International Airport (VIA), in order to avoid service delays.