Xiamen Air has commenced charter flights from Fujian, China to the Maldives.

The airline's first flight landed at Velana International Airport (VIA) on Wednesday.

The flight, which arrived with a total of 236 passengers on board, was welcomed by VIA with a water salute with special ceremonies.

Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Wang Lishin and senior officials of government ministries, including tourism ministry, Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), Maldives Immigration, Maldives Customs Service, tourism associations and other government ministries, were present on the occasion.

A total of four airlines will now fly from China to the Maldives, including Xiamen Air, China Capital Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Sichuan Airlines.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced Xiamen Air's plans to start direct flights from China to the Maldives in January this year.

Speaking to the media after concluding his visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Dr. Muizzu said that during the visit, a lot of discussions were held to increase the number of Chinese tourists to the Maldives, and to increase the number of direct flights.

"During this journey, Xiamen Air has earmarked direct flights to the Maldives for starting this spring. From Xiamen to Male', and from Male' to Xiamen. In addition, various destinations will be added in the future," he said.

The President stated that the marketing of Maldivian tourism to Chinese tourists will be expanded, and efforts have been made to increase the number of Chinese tourists to the Maldives in the next two years.

Prior to Covid, the highest number of tourists were from China, but since then, the highest number of tourists have been from India.