The national airline, Maldivian, has announced that it will continue direct flights between Maldives and Australia next year as well.
Maldivian initially began operating scheduled direct flights between Velana International Airport and Melbourne starting May 17, 2026, using the A330 aircraft in its fleet.
The decision to continue the flights was reached following the high demand. Following the launching Maldivian said the flights were launched after 3 months of studying the trend.
While a large number of Australian tourists choose Maldives for their holiday, Maldivian said earlier the arrival times of these flights will be coordinated with onward seaplane and domestic connections, allowing passengers to reach resorts and islands across the country more conveniently.
Maldivian had partnered with Luxury Escapes for its operations in Australia, a company responsible for bringing in 20 percent of the Australian tourists visiting the Maldives.
At present, Maldivian’s international operations are limited to India and China.
Although the national airline made efforts to launch services to European destinations, including acquiring an A330 aircraft for the purpose, it has been unable to expand its international operations beyond these two destinations.
While Maldives has recorded 1.2 million tourist arrivals so far this year, 40,000 of them are from Australia, which is the 9th largest market.
