Maldivian to launch direct flights to four Chinese cities including Beijing

National airline, Maldivian is scheduled to launch direct flights to four cities in China next year including capital Beijing.

Maldivian, via a post on X, said it will launch direct flights to four cities in China—Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Xi’an—starting January 2025. According to the airline, it will utilize its new A330-200 wide-body aircraft for these operations.

We are thrilled to announce new direct flights from Malé to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Xi’an starting January 2025 with our new A330-200 wide-body aircraft.

The launch event in Beijing brought together key stakeholders from both nations, and a commitment to enhancing… pic.twitter.com/CIjbxcDPyY

— MaldivianAero (@MaldivianAero) December 10, 2024

An event was held in Beijing to commemorate the impending commencement of direct flights by the national airline.

Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen, who attended the event, via a post on X, expressed gratitude to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu for fulfilling the assurance of wide-body operations by Maldivian.

It was a pleasure to attend the official commemoration in Beijing to commence direct flights between the Maldives and China. I am grateful to President @MMuizzu for fulfilling the assurance of wide-body operations by @MaldivianAero . Starting in January 2025, flights to Beijing,… pic.twitter.com/9pLOj7bmUj

— Mohamed Ameen (@ameen3d) December 10, 2024

He noted that the commencement of direct flights would boost tourism and connectivity between Maldives and China.

China is presently the top tourist market to the Maldives. While Maldives have recorded 1.88 million tourist arrivals so far this year, 13.5 percent of the arrivals account for Chinese tourists.

Direct flights from over 22 countries operate to the Maldives.

Apart from China, the Maldives sees the most tourist arrivals from Russia, the UK, Germany, and Italy.