Maldivian schedules repatriation flights to Lanka, India

The national airline, Maldivian has announced it will hold repatriation flights to evacuate Maldivian nationals in Sri Lanka and India.

Maldivian, in a tweet this Saturday evening, released the schedule for its repatriation flights.

Two Q300 flights will operate to Colombo on Sunday; one is scheduled to depart from Colombo at 18:40 and land at Velana International Airport (VIA) at 20:20, and the other is scheduled to depart from Colombo at 18:55 and land at VIA at 20:35.

And, an A321 flight will operate to Cochin on Monday. It is scheduled to depart from Cochin at 19:00 and land at VIA at 20:00.

Maldivian has instructed those who wish to return to Maldives on the repatriation flights to send their names, contact details and passport copies to the airline’s Viber account.

Sri Lanka hosts the largest population of Maldivian nationals overseas with some 15,000 people, while Cochin is the most popular destination among medical tourists from Maldives. Commercial flights between Maldives and India and Sri Lanka have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many stranded, who have appealed to the Maldivian government to hold repatriation flights.