British Airways cancels all Maldives flights until 13th August

In an aggressive move, following the Maldives being placed on the UK Government ‘Red List’ of travel restrictions, British Airways appears to have cancelled all flights to Male until 13th August.

It was only back in February that BA decided to run a Summer service to the Maldives this year. This was initially for one flight per week, later upgraded to two.

ba.com will still sell you a flight to the Maldives, but this will be on Qatar Airways with an aircraft change in Doha. This is clearly risky, because you would need both Qatar and the Maldives to be removed from the ‘Red List’ if you were to avoid hotel quarantine on your return.

I would also expect that Iberia will now cancel its plans to launch Maldives services in July.

BA flights are currently scheduled to return at a low level from 13th August, with a full Winter season (five per week) due to operate from the timetable switch in late October.

This is the second time this week – coming on the back of the launch of multiple Greek routes for routes – that British Airways has placed a big bet on the timing of restrictions being lifted. With infection data now widely available and the criteria for restrictions being published, it may be that the airline feels it can make such moves with greater confidence.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)