A direct flight from Siberia to the Indian Ocean is now a reality. S7 Airlines has launched scheduled service between Novosibirsk and the Maldives, with the inaugural flight touching down at Velana International Airport on Friday, 30 October 2026, greeted with a welcome ceremony from the airports company MACL.
The route runs twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, aboard an Airbus A320 departing from Novosibirsk's Tolmachevo International Airport. It's a long haul for a narrowbody: roughly 5,600 kilometres and about 10.5 hours, including a refuelling stop in Termez, Uzbekistan. The payoff for travellers is significant — anyone living in Siberia no longer needs to change planes in Moscow to reach the islands.
The timing is no accident. The route arrives just before the Maldives' peak winter season, when demand from cold-weather markets surges. Russia is currently the country's second-largest tourism source after China, with around 229,200 Russian arrivals in the first nine months of 2026 — up nearly 15% on the same period a year earlier. S7's service joins Aeroflot's Moscow flights in serving that growing market.
The launch also fits into a broader build-out at Velana for the high season. MACL has rolled out international check-in at Terminal 2 for ten airlines, S7 among them, to handle the winter traffic surge.
Also making news across the atolls: Grand Park Kodhipparu Maldives picked up nine accolades at the 2026 World Luxury Awards, including Global Winner titles for its overwater spa (Best Luxury Island Resort Spa) and its fine-dining restaurant FireDOOR (Best Sunset Views), plus a Best General Manager nod for Raffaele Solferino ahead of the resort's tenth anniversary in 2027. Meanwhile, ananea Madivaru Maldives launched an Island Concierge Programme from 1 November 2026 — a relaxed alternative to formal butler service, with a dedicated concierge meeting guests on arrival, helping with plans, and driving them to dinner or the spa. And in the capital itself, Wellness by Mandara at Barceló Nasandhura in Malé was named among the world's Top 100 Spas for 2026, offering ELEMIS facials and multi-hand signature massages to hotel guests, residents and day visitors alike.
For travellers, the headline news is accessibility. Russians outside Moscow — and anyone connecting through Novosibirsk — now have a simpler, one-ticket path to the Maldives, timed for the best weather of the year. It's also a signal of where the destination is heading: more source markets, more direct flights, and a resort scene piling up international awards as competition for guests intensifies.
