Passengers requested to arrive four hours before flight

MACL also said that passengers are required to attend the airport around four hours before their flight.

"That is because some of our areas will have a prolonged process. Passengers can only enter the terminal after a thermal scan. HPA guideline says to fill out an online form and to obtain an IR code before moving on to arrival and departure. Due to such additional measures, we request passengers to arrive at the airport four hours before their flight." said terminal Manager Ibrahim Hussain during a Parliamentary Committee meeting today.

He also added that even though airlines are allocated slots for 10 minutes, due to social distancing measures, it can't take as long as 20 minutes.

Airlines are already expressing interest in conducting flights to the Maldives when the borders reopen in July.

Some of the airlines include:

Starting from July 1

• Sri Lankan Airlines: Three flights per day
• Qatar Airways: One flight per day

From July 15

• Emirates: One flight per day
• Etihad Airways: Two flights per week
• Hong Kong Airlines: Two flights per week
• Indigo: Two flights per day
• Singapore Airlines: One flight per day
• Silk Air: Two flights per day
• Turkish Air: Two flights per every five weekdays.

MACL also said that it was expecting flight traffic to return to normal by 2022. Even in the worst-case scenario, it was expected to return to normal by 2024.