Russian charter airline Azur Air is set to commence flights from Moscow to Male’, Maldives on Boeing-777 from 28th November 2020 onwards. Flights will be operated once a week during the autumn-winter season. Previously, only Russia’s flag carrier Aeroflot operated flights to Maldives.  

“Azur Air is expanding the possibilities of Russian tourists to spend their holidays in the Maldives. On November 28, regular flights from Moscow to Male will open on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The program is scheduled once a week, on Saturdays, for the entire autumn-winter season,” the company said. 

Maldives opened borders to all nationalities from 15th July. All visitors are granted a 30-day free on-arrival visa with a confirmed booking for a stay at any registered tourist facility in the country. The reopening of borders came with stringent safety measures in place to ensure the safety of both tourists and staff. Tourists are required to fill an online health declaration form within 24 hours prior to departure and also present a negative COVID-19 test, conducted 96 hours prior to departure to the Maldives.  

Prior to the lockdown on 27th March, Maldives observed 382, 760 tourist arrivals. Since the reopening of borders, there have been over 50,000 arrivals up until now, with tourist arrivals from major markets such as the Middle East, India and UAE.