The national carrier of neighboring Sri Lanka, SriLankan Airlines has begun operating a dedicated freighter aircraft to the Maldives.

The dedicated freighter aircraft, 4R- ALS landed at the Velana International Airport in Maldives capital, Malé City on Wednesday morning for the first time.

The freighter arrived with 45 tonnes of cargo a majority of which includes essential items.

SriLankan Airlines’ Sales Agent in the Maldives, Ace Travels’ Managing Director Mohamed Firaq revealed that flights will be increased in accordance with the demand for them.

The cargo aircraft that touched down at VIA on Wednesday was added to the SriLankan fleet very recently, said Firaq.

Further, SriLankan Airlines has strengthened its connectivity to key European Markets London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan, which is expected to support the Maldives exports industry

Ace Travels currently operates three scheduled flights from Sri Lanka to Maldives. The opportunity to travel from Maldives to Sri Lanka will be officiated once the neighboring nation opens its borders for international travel.

The Sri Lankan authorities were earlier set to reopen borders on August 1, however, it has been delayed to mid-August.

One of the very first international airlines to resume operations to the Maldives upon border reopening on July 15 after nearly four months since the country shut down borders on March 27, SriLankan Airlines had operated three daily flights to Colombo from the Maldives, before the borders were closed.