Etihad Airways and Bangkok Airways have announced their decision to cut down on direct flights to Maldives, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The prominent international airlines are expected to reduce their direct flights to several other locations, in an effort to minimize spread of the disease as well as to factor in expenses amid depleting demand.
Abu Dhabi originated Etihad Airways announced the airline is scheduled to operate just a single flight to Maldives on a daily basis, while previously the airline had two scheduled landings everyday.
The changed scheduled will remain effective from 23 March, Monday until the end of April 2020.
Meanwhile Bangkok Airways, which flew four flights to Maldives on a weekly basis will have one scheduled landing per week.
Moreoever, the airline announced it has postponed an additional flight to Maldives to an unprecedented date in future - expected to resume once the global pandemic gets fully controlled.
Earlier, Bangkok Airways was expected to launch the airline's additional flight on 7 April.
The two airlines have entered into the list of major international carriers reducing direct flight operations to Maldies amid the viral outbreak.
Sri Lankan Airlines had recently announced it will be temporarily suspending flight operations to Maldives while Emirates announced it will be slowing down on flight landings to Maldives.
Maldives government has imposed travel restrictions on a total of 11 countries with the virus making its way to the island nation.
The island nation's government has restricted arrivals from China, Italy, Spain, Iran, UK, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Korea, France and Germany.
The global pandemic has placed significant dents on Maldivian economy, especially the country's tourism sector on which it is mainly dependent.
The sudden dwindle in arrival numbers resulted in massive booking cancellations on multiple tourist properties, while several hospitality venues have announced temporary closure.
