Qatar Airways has become the first international airline to resume flights to the Maldives.

The first of the daily services touched down at Velana International Airport early on the morning of the 15 July, marked with a water cannon salute.

By the end of July, the airline’s network will expand to over 450 weekly flights to more than 70 destinations with the addition of flights to destinations including Addis Ababa, Bodrum, Antalya and Helsinki.

Open to beach lovers are the Greek islands through the airline’s Athens gateway, with the airline increasing its frequency to the city from seven to 11 weekly flights. They can also fly with Qatar Airways to visit the blue seas of Zanzibar in Tanzania or the relaxing Mediterranean coastline of Tunisia via Tunis.

For those seeking a city break, Qatar Airways is operating regular services to many cities including Milan, Rome, and Venice in Italy; Ankara and Istanbul in Turkey; plus six cities in the USA.

Qatar Airways’ onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew include the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew and a complimentary protective kit and disposable face shields for passengers.

Business Class passengers on aircraft equipped with Qsuite can enjoy enhanced privacy, including sliding privacy partitions and the option to use a ‘Do Not Disturb (DND)’ indicator.

To ensure travellers can plan their travel with peace of mind, the airline has also extended its booking policies to offer even more choice to its passengers.

The airline will allow unlimited date changes, and passengers can change their destination as often as they need if it is within 5,000 miles of the original destination. The airline will not charge any fare differences for travel completed before 31 December 2020, after which fare rules will apply.

All tickets booked for travel up to 31 December 2020 will also be valid for two years from the date of issuance.