A couple has found themselves trapped in an eternal honeymoon in Maldives after the rapid spread of the highly contagious coronavirus forc...
A couple has found themselves trapped in an eternal honeymoon in Maldives after the rapid spread of the highly contagious coronavirus forced airports in their country to shutdown.
Newlyweds Olivia, 27, and Raul De Freitas, 28, were only supposed to spend six days in paradise at the Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives before heading back to South Africa, where they are citizens.
The De Freitas arrived in Maldives on March 22 and were supposed to head back home the following weekend.
Due to the mounting travel restrictions in multiple countries, the couple had made sure to check with their travel agent before embarking on their journey, according to The New York Times.
Newlyweds Olivia, 27, and Raul De Freitas (pictured together in Maldives), 28, were only supposed to spend six days in paradise at the Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives before heading back to South Africa, where they are citizens
The De Freitas arrived in Maldives on March 22 and were supposed to head back home the following weekend
Due to the mounting travel restrictions in multiple countries, the couple had made sure to check with their travel agent before embarking on their journey
At that point, no restrictions for their itinerary had been announced and their agent told them that all South African citizens would be allowed back home.
However, that wasn't the case and the De Freitas are now stuck in Maldives.
'It’s incredible that we get this extra time,' Olivia told the Times, adding that they are getting a generous discount off the usual $750 per night resort, but each day is cutting into their savings.
'Everyone says they want to be stuck on a tropical island, until you’re actually stuck,' Olivia said. 'It only sounds good because you know you can leave.'
The couple explained that they were in the fourth day of their honeymoon when they received notice that South Africa's airports would all be closed by midnight the following day.
They told the Times that flights back to South Africa are five hours to Doha, Qatar, where they would be subject to a three-hour layover, and then nine hours to Johannesburg.
The couple explained that they were in the fourth day of their honeymoon when they received notice that South Africa's airports would all be closed by midnight the following day
The De Freitas are staying at the Cinnamon Velifushi Maldives (pictured)
And due to those complexities of leaving paradise, they would've never made it back to South Africa ahead of the country's airport closures.
The De Freitas said they considered other options like taking an hour-and-a-half speedboat ride to the main island's airport.
But the Maldives had also announced their own lockdown around the same time, banning foreign travelers.
They also feared that if they left the resort, they might not be allowed back in.
The De Freitas said they will know if flight permissions have been sorted out on Monday despite South Africa's lockdown lasting until at least April 16.
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