According to Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), an Italian budget airline, Blue Panorama will depart on its maiden voyage to Maldives this month. MACL is planning a special ceremony at Velana International Airport (VIA) to welcome the flight.
Headquartered in Fiumicino, Italy, Blue Panorama is a budget-airline which usually travels around the European continent. The main budget carriers to the Maldives are mainly Asia based with the occasional European budget flight.
Currently, 2 airlines from Italy operate to the Maldives. Italians were the first ever tourists to arrive in the Maldives. Italy holds a great percentage of the arrival market to the Maldives, and the number of visitors to the country is steadily increasing with 67,891 visitors from Italy this year. This is an increase of 10% compared to the previous year and is expected to rise with the introduction of this flight along with a large number of passengers from other European countries.