Velana International Airport, the primary gateway to the Maldives and the biggest in the country, is amongst the busiest airports in the region, and an abundant environment full of activities. However, the hustle and bustle of the airport has disappeared following the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of people used the facilities and services of the airport that manages numerous international and domestic flights in addition to private jets. VIA is the primary economic gateway of Maldives used by several thousands of tourists to enter the country.
While over a million tourists visit the country every year, VIA is always bustling to provide top quality services to all tourists entering the country via air travel. The busy schedule of VIA often requires airplanes to wait mid-air for a long period of time until they get clearance to land.
However, as the aviation industry has been hit hard by COVID-19, VIA is experiencing an unusually empty and a quiet time as the airport is vacated. Various countries have closed borders and stopped air travel to contain COVID-19 and currently, only a handful of tourists are visiting Maldives. While international departures have drastically died down, the domestic terminal is also mostly unoccupied.
The food courts in the airport are empty, while the sea plane ticket counters and resorts desks and lounges in airport are also vacant. The only visible people in the airport are the limited number of staff working in the airport.
While the airport is already quiet, the government has also decided to suspend on-arrival visa starting from today. This will see further decreases in the number of tourist arrivals and movement in the airport.
The first measure the government took to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Maldives is screening all passengers entering the country via VIA. The administration started screening all arrivals after installing thermal cameras in all international airports and seaports while people with symptoms of COVID-19 are quarantined in an isolation facility in the airport.
The management of VIA also carried a disinfection programme at the airport for the safety of the people using the airport, and to contain the spread of the virus.