Sichuan Airlines resumes operations to Maldives after 7 years

China’s Sichuan Airlines have resumed operations to Maldives after a seven-year break.

The resumption flight, which carried 186 passengers, landed at Velana International Airport at 6:06pm on Sunday evening upon which it received a welcome with a special water salute.

Sichuan Airlines is scheduled to operate three weekly flights to Maldives from Chengdu, China.

The airline last operated a flight to the Maldives on March 23, 2016.

Sichuan Airlines is the largest airline in western China, mostly operating east Asian nations in addition to other Asian and European nations.

The resumption of operations to Maldives by Sichuan Airlines increases the number of Chinese airlines operating to the Maldives to three – the other two being Beijing Capital, which operates weekly charter flights, and China Eastern, offering weekly scheduled flights every Saturday.

China reopened its borders, which was closed at the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, early this year. Direct flights to Maldives from China resumed on January 18^th after almost three years. However, at present, the Chinese market is among the top three tourist markets to the Maldives.