New non-stop flights to make fast-growing holiday spots easier to reach - SMH.com.au

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Travel to burgeoning international destinations will become easier from next year, with several airlines and travel companies set to launch new direct flights from Australia.

Australian travel company Luxury Escapes will launch the first non-stop flights from Australia to the Maldives, with a new Melbourne-Male service, operated by Maldives national carrier Maldivian, to launch in 2026 – significantly reducing travel time to the archipelago.

Also in the Indian Ocean, Jetstar will begin the non-stop flights to Sri Lanka. The Melbourne-Colombo route will start on August 25, operating three times a week. Further afield, Finnair will start a daily Melbourne-Helsinki service, via Bangkok, from October 26.

Luxury Escapes’ new seasonal Maldives service marks the first time Australian travellers will have access to regular scheduled non-stop weekly flights to the luxury holiday favourite.

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Seats on the new route, launching May 18, will be sold exclusively as part of new Luxury Escapes Maldives packages, which start from $2599 per person and include flights, accommodation and other extras.

The inaugural Maldivian service will cut current transit times to Male by at least five hours – down to 11 hours on flights to Male, and just over 10 hours for the return leg. The current shortest Melbourne-Male service is about 16 hours 30 minutes, operated by Malaysia Airlines with a nearly four-hour stopover in Kuala Lumpur. Currently, all flights from Australia to the Maldives require a stopover in Singapore, Colombo, Dubai or Doha, pushing average travel times out to more than 20 hours .

The new weekly route will operate a Monday evening service from Melbourne, landing in Male on Tuesday morning and leaving Sunday evening.

Maldivian will operate an Airbus A330-200 on the route with a total of 263 seats, including 18 lie-flat business seats and 246 economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.

The non-stop flights will run initially for six months, following approval from Australian regulators, with the possibility of extending for a second season or making the service permanent.

The new South Asian routes from Melbourne reflect growing travel demand in the region. Maldives hotel reservations have surged 17 per cent in 2025, according to Luxury Escapes bookings data. Sri Lanka has emerged as one of the fastest growing destinations for Australia residents in 2025, with visitor numbers up nearly 19 per cent to more than 130,000.

Victorian travellers won’t be the sole beneficiaries of more travel choices in 2026. Further details on specific new routes for Western Sydney International will be revealed in the new year, with the NSW government and soon-to-launch airport announcing separate incentives for airlines.

A spokesperson for state tourism agency Destination NSW said: “Between the NSW Take Off Fund and the Western Sydney International Take Off Fund, there is $41 million of aviation support available to airlines and airports that commit to launching new or additional services into NSW.”