Oman Air cancels flights to Maldives

National airline of Oman, Oman Air has cancelled flights to Maldives.

Oman Air had been operating direct flights from Muscat to Maldives since 2009, discontinuing and resuming operations in Maldives several times during the period.

Oman Air and Maldives Airports Company Limited has informed “Sun” that this time, operations have been discontinued for good.

Country Manager of Oman Air for Maldives and Sri Lanka, Gihan Karunaratne spoke to “Sun” on Saturday and said that the company had suspended operations in Maldives on April 18, and that the company did not plan on resuming operations in the country.

Karunaratne said that the decision was made “for business reasons”, giving no further detail.

However, officials from Oman Air, Male’ office said that flights from Oman Air would operate between Maldives and Muscat via Sri Lanka.

MACL Corporate Communications Manager, Hassan Areef noted that some airlines were shutting down operations in Maldives, while others were expanding their operations.

“The airlines are shutting down operations because they aren’t strong enough. While one airline has shut down its operations, other airlines – Emirates, Qatar Airways and Ithihad Airways are growing,” said Areef.