Compare Maldives flights

The number of flights to the Maldives has increased in line with the tropical nation’s popularity with holidaymakers, so you should have no problem booking a trip in 2023.

All flights touch down in the Maldives’ only major airport, Malé (or Ibrahim Nasir) International Airport (MLE). It has three terminals but only one runway and limited facilities.

Finding cheap flights to the Maldives – at least direct ones – can be a little tricky, as there aren’t that many carriers to choose from. The only UK airline to offer direct flights to the Maldives, for example, is British Airways.

Its flights depart from London Gatwick (LGW) several times a week during high season (usually between November and April). But there are currently no direct flights to the Maldives from anywhere else in the UK, although British Airways can offer cheap domestic flights to London Gatwick to connect.

If non-stop flights prove too costly on your chosen dates or you want to travel to the Maldives out of season, consider looking at flight and hotel packages or at connecting flights instead.

A multitude of Asian and Middle Eastern airlines operate regular connecting flights to Malé, including Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Emirates, SriLankan Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Flights with these companies depart from London Heathrow (LHR), London Gatwick, Manchester (MAN), Birmingham (BHX), Newcastle (NCL), Edinburgh (EDI) and Glasgow (GLA) and include a midway stopover in the likes of Istanbul, Doha, Dubai, Colombo or Singapore.

Direct flights between London and Malé take between 10 and 11 hours, with the flight time on the way to the Maldives usually running a little shorter than it does on the return leg. Connecting flights can be over in as little as 12 or 13 hours, depending on the length of the layover.

Cheap Maldives flights sell out quite far ahead of the date of travel, so it pays to book your 2023 holiday well in advance, and keep tabs on when airlines are having sales. Outside of the sales, the golden time to book tickets usually falls between two and three months before your trip.

Another good way to snare a cheap flight to the Maldives is to look at hotel and flight packages. Choosing this option will also save you from sifting through the various Maldives flights and hotels, so you can spend your time picking out what bathing suit to bring instead.

The Maldives islands are roughly 2,140 kilometres (1,330 miles) from India, the nation’s nearest neighbour, so flying there is your only real option. There are no scheduled passenger ferries to the Maldives due to both the distance and the coral reefs.