Holidaymakers keen to travel to the Maldives from the UAE will soon have another way to get there.
Low-cost airline flydubai will be launching flights to Gan International Airport in the southern tip of the Indian Ocean archipelago, starting in February.
The budget carrier will operate a daily flight to the second biggest international airport in the Maldives from February 4, making it the first UAE airline to operate to Gan, a former British Royal Air Force base.
Perfectly located for travellers flying to the Southern Atolls, the airport lies in proximity to several resorts including the Equator Village, Canareef Resort Maldives and the on-the-market Shangri-La's Villingili Resort & Spa, Maldives.
Together with existing flights to Velana International Airport in Male, flydubai will operate 28 services a week between Dubai and the Maldives from February.
“The start of our daily flights to the southern island of Gan will give our passengers more options to travel to the beautiful Maldives. This new service will reduce the commute time whether by boat or seaplane for those staying in resorts in the Southern Atolls,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive at flydubai.
“The Maldives continues to be one of the most popular leisure destinations for our customers from the UAE, GCC and CIS. The additional frequency to the market will further support connecting traffic from Europe as well.”
Gan flights leave Dubai just after 9am, arriving in the Maldives at 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. On every other day of the week, the flight leaves Dubai at 2.30am, with travellers landing in the Addu Atoll just after 9am.
Despite flydubai’s reputation as a low-cost airline, economy fares on the route start from Dh4,050 ($1,102), and business class fares will set travellers back Dh7,400. That’s substantially higher than Wizz Air Abu Dhabi’s recently launched Maldives flights to Velana, where basic one-way fares start from Dh319.
But for travellers staying in southern destinations, flying into Gan could reduce resort transfer fees as nearby islands are reachable via a short speed boat ride instead of seaplane transfer, if coming from Male.
From a coral runway to the Maldives' second-busiest airport
First built by the British Royal Navy, Gan International Airport originally operated with a coral runway and welcomed its first aircraft — a Royal Air Force Westland Walrus — almost 80 years ago.
The hub was transferred to the Royal Air Force and a permanent runway was added. It was used as a staging post for aircraft on their way to Singapore and other East Asian destinations.
In 1976, the British handed the airport over to the Maldivian government and it began its new tenure as a domestic airport, before being upgraded to support international flights.
Warlight,
Michael Ondaatje, Knopf
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Company%C2%A0profile
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The five types of long-term residential visas
Obed Suhail of ServiceMarket, an online home services marketplace, outlines the five types of long-term residential visas:
Investors:
A 10-year residency visa can be obtained by investors who invest Dh10 million, out of which 60 per cent should not be in real estate. It can be a public investment through a deposit or in a business. Those who invest Dh5 million or more in property are eligible for a five-year residency visa. The invested amount should be completely owned by the investors, not loaned, and retained for at least three years.
Entrepreneurs:
A five-year multiple entry visa is available to entrepreneurs with a previous project worth Dh0.5m or those with the approval of an accredited business incubator in the UAE.
Specialists
Expats with specialised talents, including doctors, specialists, scientists, inventors, and creative individuals working in the field of culture and art are eligible for a 10-year visa, given that they have a valid employment contract in one of these fields in the country.
Outstanding students:
A five-year visa will be granted to outstanding students who have a grade of 95 per cent or higher in a secondary school, or those who graduate with a GPA of 3.75 from a university.
Retirees:
Expats who are at least 55 years old can obtain a five-year retirement visa if they invest Dh2m in property, have savings of Dh1m or more, or have a monthly income of at least Dh20,000.
Jawan
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
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Copa del Rey, semi-final second leg
Real Madrid 0
Barcelona 3 (Suarez (50', 73' pen), Varane (69' OG)
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Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)