The Maldives has opened its borders and the first flight has landed today in Velana International Airport.

The country which a popular tourist destination across the globe has been closed in late March due to COVID-19 pandemic. The first commercial flight to land today is Qatar Airways which arrived today at 8:27 today, carrying more than 104 tourists.

The government has also provided easier access to the country with several new regulations which includes 30 days on arrival visa, no requirement for quarantine and no COVID-19 testing upon arrival.

However, tourists whom exhibit COVID-19 symptoms are slightly different with PCR test as a safety measure. Tourists will be charged for the test. Thermal scanning is arranged at points of entry.  Also, the government would be also conducting random sampling.

Its has also been reported that several airlines expressed their interest to operate flights to the Maldives.

The government hopes that tourism would boost up soon to make more economic recoveries slowly.