The first flight of Thai AirAsia landed at Velana International Airport on Friday.

The direct flights will be held daily from Bangkok to Malé, said AirAsia.

Noting that Maldives is seen as costly and catering 'to certain types of travelers', Director Klongchaiya said that AirAsia decided to start direct flight between Maldives and Thailand so 'Everyone Can Fly' to Maldives and see that 'it offers a wide variety of accommodation from guest houses to opulent resorts".

"We are confident the route will see robust growth, especially as AirAsia is the first low-fare carrier to Bangkok-Maldives link", Klongchaiya had said.

A promotional fair starting from USD 99 was held from the 14th of June to the 25th.

AirAsia highlighted that Thailand "is an emerging market for Maldives with an increasing number of arrivals from the market in previous years".

 In 2016, 16,451 arrivals were recorded from Thailand which is an increase of 3.4 percent compared to the previous year. Looking to the latest arrival figures, by June this year Maldives have welcomed 9,276 which is an increase of 18.9 percent compared to the same period last year.