SriLankan Airlines is set to commence direct flights between London and Maldives this winter from 12th December 2020 onwards.

The flights will operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Flights will depart Heathrow at 7:30 PM, arriving in Male’ at 10:50 AM the following day. Return flights will depart Male’ at 11:40 AM, arriving in Heathrow at 6:00 PM.

From 30th March 2020, flights will depart Heathrow at 8:10 PM, but are scheduled to arrive in Male’ at 10:50 AM the following morning. This route will be run through 30th March till April 13, running alongside Oneworld alliance partner British Airways’ 6 weekly direct Heathrow-Male’ service. British Airways had resumed its flights from Heathrow Airport, London to Velana International Airport with three weekly flights on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 

Maldives recently landed on the UK's Global Travel Advisory list, enabling travelers to return to the UK without the need for mandatory self isolation from 25th October 2020.

Maldives opened borders to all nationalities from 15th July. All visitors are granted a 30-day free on-arrival visa with a confirmed booking for a stay at any registered tourist facility in the country. The reopening of borders came with stringent safety measures in place to ensure the safety of both tourists and staff.

Tourists are required to fill an online health declaration form within 24 hours prior to departure and also present a negative COVID-19 test, conducted 96 hours prior to departure to the Maldives.

Maldives has also introduced the first COVID-19 travel insurance in the country, Allied Inbound, which covers medical charges, isolation facility charges, emergency medical transportation charges and interment charges following a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 during their stay in the country.  

Prior to the lockdown on 27th March, Maldives observed 382, 760 tourist arrivals. Since the reopening of borders, there have been over 50,000 arrivals up until now, with tourist arrivals from major markets such as the Middle East, India and UAE.