Maldivian ticket office closed, services altered as pandemic worsens

Maldivian has closed their ticket office and announced major changes to their operations procedure as the Covid-19 pandemic worsens in the Maldives.

Maldivian issued an announcement stating that from 6 February, their ticket office would be closed as the company would be issuing services to customers from their call center and Viber platform. Services will be available every day between 9AM and 5PM, with the exception of Friday.

In addition to this, Maldivian has encouraged all customers to opt for their mobile application in purchasing tickets. The national airline Maldivian had most recently opened a new ticket office at the STO City Square, from where they had been providing services to customers prior to the pandemic. As Covid-19 began spreading in the country, Maldivian had previously brought changes to the opening hours of their ticket office, but it has yet to be completely closed before now.

Maldivian has closed their ticker office and brought many changes to their operations so as to discourage members of the public from gathering in light of the situation of Covid-19 in the country. Health authorities have confirmed that the more virulent variant of Covid-19 previously discovered in the UK was now spreading in the Maldives as well, and that the island nation was considered "high-risk" for travelers and tourists at this time.

The Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) has explained the severity of the situation, noting that while the variant of Covid-19 spreading among Maldivians initially had the potential of one positive case infecting two others, the new variant could transmit to five persons from one positive case. The HEOC also highlights that those infected with the new variant of Covid-19 exhibit more symptoms, and are more likely to need in-hospital care for the infection than those afflicted with the previous variant.

While Maldivian has closed their ticket office as the Covid-19 pandemic worsens in the country, the holy month of Ramazan, and Eid, are just a few weeks away. While locals usually return to their native islands in the atolls around Ramazan and Eid every year, Health Protection Authority (HPA) has strengthened Covid-19 health, safety and quarantine measures for travelers.

The public health authority has stressed the importance of only traveling if absolutely necessary during this critical juncture. More and more islands are being placed under monitoring following the discovery of positive cases linked to clusters on other islands.