Italian budget carrier Blue Panorama Airlines on Monday began operating chartered flights between Poland and Maldives, connecting the central European nation and the Indian Ocean island holiday destination for the first time.
The first Blue Panorama flight to the Maldives was given a water salute as it landed at Velana International Airport at 10.40am. Officials from the airport operator Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and the airline’s local agent Sun Ocean Maldives welcomed the 264 passengers that had travelled to the Maldives from Poland.
Abdulla Rasheed, Managing Director of Sun Ocean Maldives, told local media that Blue Panorama will operate a weekly charter between Katowice Airport in Poland and Velana International Airport in Male until December 26. The airline is expected to carry at least 1,000 Polish tourists every month, he added.
“This charter will boost tourist arrivals to the Maldives from Poland,” Rasheed said.
Official figures show that 12,025 tourists visited the Maldives from Poland last year — a 38.2 per cent increase over the year before. That growth is set to continue this year, as arrivals from Poland increased by 19.1 per cent in the first four months of the year to reach 6,431.
Headquartered in Fiumicino, Blue Panorama operates scheduled and charter flights to 34 international destinations from its bases at Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport and Milan-Malpensa Airport in Italy, Katowice Airport in Poland, and Rinas International Airport in Albania.
The airline operates a fleet of 16 jets, including seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft.