SriLankan Airlines Suspends Flights to Maldives

Thursday 19th of March 2020

SriLankan Airlines Suspends Flights to Maldives

SriLankan Airlines announced that the airline has suspended its flight operations to and from Maldives, from Thursday to Wednesday, as Sri Lanka shuts down its main airport to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The airline urged passengers booked to travel during the period to contact its representatives in the Maldives: +960 3333668, +960 7797673, +960 7936778, and +960 7926778. SriLankan Airlines operate four daily flights from Bandaranaike International Airport to the Maldives main Velana International Airport, and six flights per week to Gan International Airport in the southernmost Maldives atoll of Addu.

There has been 51 total cases in Sri Lanka with no deaths and 2 recovered. The country has imposed a curfew in certain areas in a bid to control the spread and also has closed schools and universities to control the spread of the coronavirus for five weeks.

In Maldives, there were 13 cases, all from foreigners and no deaths. Apart from closing guesthouses and hotels, the country had closed its borders to arrivals from some of the worst-hit countries, including mainland China, Italy, Bangladesh, Iran, Spain, the United Kingdom and Malaysia. Cruise ships had also been banned from docking at any of the country’s ports.