Good coordination and the unity between the government of Maldives and EU countries have been key to the success of the operation to safely transfer the European tourists stranded in Maldives back home.

The international community praised the Maldivian government’s efficient return arrangements for European tourists stranded in the island nation.

The European Union External Action Service reported that thousands of European tourists have safely flown back home from the Maldives with the joint work of the European Union and Member States, despite the absence of EU embassies and a delegation.

According to the report, there were about 34,000 tourists in the island nation, most of them European, when Maldives authorities began implementing strong measures against the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

This being said, swift action was required to transfer them back home.

As such, the EU together with Member States and partner countries found the “right balance” to relay useful information to tourists through its missions in Colombo, Sri Lanka and Delhi, India.

EU prioritized requests to the Maldivian government to arrange commercial flights to Europe.

“The cooperation with the government of Maldives has been excellent” said EU, the authorities were constantly updated on suspected and confirmed cases and were open to suggestions from the EU regarding the isolation and quarantine measures for tourists.

This was reported to have helped keep the number of infected foreigners, low.

Further, it was reported that social media played a key role in keeping them updates with consular and health advice.