Maldives has recorded a 5.6 percent increase in international flight movements during the first six months of the year, central bank, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) figures showed.
According to MMA’s monthly statistics, a total of 8,807 international flight movements including scheduled and general flights were recorded in the first six months of this year up from 8,337 flights during the same period last year.
The increase was largely attributed to the surge in scheduled international flights to the Maldives with 8,088 scheduled flights by June as opposed to the 7,611 movements recorded by June 2024.
General flight movements, which includes charter flights and private jets registered a slight dip with 719 flights during the first six months, in contrast to 726 last year.
International flight movements are expected to increase even further ahead of the busy winter season with major international airlines, including Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic already announcing more flights to the globally renowned tourist destination.
The government has set a target of 2.3 million tourist arrivals for this year. So far this year, 1.3 million tourists have already arrived in the Maldives, and around 1 million more are needed to meet the target. The peak tourism season is approaching, and arrival numbers are expected to significantly increase during this period.