First direct flight from Australia arrives in the Maldives

The first-ever direct flight from Australia to the Maldives successfully landed at the Velana International Airport (VIA) on Tuesday morning, carrying tourists from ‘Down Under’ to the ‘Sunny Side of Life’.

The Male’-Melbourne route – marking the first direct air link between Maldives and Australia – was launched on Sunday as part of a partnership between Maldives’ national carrier, Maldivian and top Australian travel agency, Luxury Escapes.

The airline’s A330 aircraft departed from Male’ to Melbourne on Sunday night, marking the beginning the landmark journey. The flight returned fully-packed on Tuesday morning.

The plane received a water salute as it landed at the VIA.

A huge team of senior officials, including Tourism Minister Mohamed Ameen, Foreign Minister Iruthisham Adam, and Australian High Commissioner David Jessup, were waiting on the tarmac as passengers disembarked from the plane.

The light drizzle did nothing to take away the smiles of passengers, as they were welcomed with a show of warmth, culture and hospitality that the Maldives is known for.

They also had surprise gifts waiting for them at the baggage belt.

The weekly flights between Male’ and Melbourne are being operated on Maldivian’s Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft, configured with 18 fully lie-flat business seats and 246 economy seats.

Maldivian reported earlier this week that the first three flights were already fully booked, with half of the seats in all flights until November also full.

The airline expects to carry around 11,000 tourists from Australia to Maldives each year with its new route.

Flights from Melbourne to the Male’ typically involve an Asian carrier with stopovers in cities such as Singapore, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur or Dubai. Travel times usually range from 15 to 20 hours, though longer journeys are common, with total travel often extending well beyond the hours spent in the air.

But the stopover-free route launched by Maldivian in partnership with Luxury Escapes trims the journey to 11 hours.

The launch of the direct route ahead of summer holidays is expected to boost tourist arrivals from Australia by 17 percent to 40,000 visitors this year.