The Ministry of Finance has annulled a circular directing state agencies to purchase all air travel through Maldivian Holidays. Maldivian Holidays is the travel arm of Island Aviation Services (IAS), the golding company of the national airline.
The now annulled circular effectively establishing Maldivian Holidays as the state’s travel agent was issued under the Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom administration, on 2 January 2016, and was annulled, through an overriding circular, issued by Minister of Finance Mohamed Shafeeq, on Thursday.
The new circular directs state agencies to arrange air travel directly via the airlines flying to the travel destinations, possibly in an effort to further reduce cost by avoiding additional third party commissions or fees.
The new circular directs state agencies to query flight costs directly with airlines in order to make the cheapest, and most efficient, purchase.
Maldivian currently operates international flights to regional destinations including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and three different cities in India.