Aviation & transfers
S7 Airlines starts Novosibirsk flights to the Maldives, twice a week
The first service landed at Velana on 30 October, adding a direct link from Siberia as the winter season begins.
Aviation & transfers · 2026-11-11 · Drafted with AI assistance and edited by the newsroom
Russian carrier S7 Airlines has begun scheduled flights between Novosibirsk and the Maldives, with its first service arriving at Velana International Airport on Friday 30 October 2026. Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) welcomed the first passengers with a reception at the airport.
The route runs twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, with Airbus A320 aircraft from Tolmachevo International Airport. The first flight, which carried a full load, covered about 5,600 kilometres in around 10.5 hours, including a refuelling stop in Termez, Uzbekistan. It gives Siberian travellers a Maldives connection without changing aircraft in Moscow.
Russia is the Maldives' second-largest source market after China. About 229,200 Russian visitors arrived in the first nine months of 2026, nearly 15 per cent more than a year earlier.