Shanghai Airlines commences direct flights to Maldives

Shanghai Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, has launched direct flights from Shanghai, China to the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

“The Shanghai Airlines landed around 1809 hours local time today with mostly Chinese tourists,” the Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) stated in a press release. “The shanghai Airlines aircraft type B 767 has a seat capacity of more than 200 seats. The chartered airline is expected to operate till the end of winter season with 3 time weekly frequency.”

According to MACL, Shanghai Airlines previously operated twice weekly flights to the Maldives as a charter airline. China tourists currently account for 30% of all tourist arrivals to the Maldives. Last week, national carrier Maldivian Airlines commenced flights to Nanjing, Changsa, and Xian.

At a ceremony held last month to welcome a new 200-seat Airbus A321-200 aircraft to the Maldivian fleet, Maldivian Managing Director Abdul Haris said the airline expects the number of tourist arrivals from China to increase to 900 a week with the introduction of flights to three new cities.

The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company meanwhile predicts Chinese tourist arrivals to increase by over 2,000 a month with the new flights carrying 200 passengers from each city once a week.