In a significant development for tourists hailing from China, Hong Kong Airlines resumed its operations between Hong Kong and Male' on 18 January 2023.

The flight departing from Hong Kong via HX791 was welcomed warmly by Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) upon arrival at Velana International  Airport (VIA) at 7:20 pm local time before continuing its journey back to Hong Kong at 10:20 pm local time.

The airline is expected to operate three flights per week on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

This is after a three-year halt of flights due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before COVID-19, China maintained the top spot as the strongest tourist market for the Maldives with 16.7% of overall arrivals in 2019.

Following the pandemic and halt of flights Chinese arrivals started to decline in the fourth quarter of 2019, significantly affecting the overall tourist numbers.

This positive development follows a recent visit by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to China, during which he sought an increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting the Maldives.

In response to this, Chinese Ambassador Wang Lixin assured that every effort would be made to restore China's position as the top tourist market in the Maldives which also includes the commencement of Chartered flights on February 18th.