The Maldives is set to gain a new direct air link with France this year, with French low-cost carrier French Bee announcing twice-weekly flights between Paris Orly and Malé.
The service is scheduled to begin on 19 December and continue until the end of the winter flight season in May 2027. The route will be operated using Airbus A350-900 aircraft, adding further long-haul seat capacity into the Maldives during the country’s peak tourism period.
The new service forms part of French Bee’s South Asia expansion, which also includes Colombo, Sri Lanka. The airline will operate the route in a triangular pattern, with flights departing Paris Orly for Malé before continuing to Colombo and returning to Paris.
Passengers will be able to board and disembark at each stop. However, as French Bee does not hold fifth freedom rights for the Malé-Colombo sector, tickets will not be sold solely between the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Travel on that segment must be connected to Paris on at least one end of the journey.
The airline is expected to operate the Paris-Malé-Colombo route twice a week. Between January and March 2027, Colombo will receive an additional weekly nonstop flight from Paris Orly, separate from the Malé service.
For the Maldives, the launch adds another European connection at a time when airlines are continuing to target leisure demand into the Indian Ocean. France remains one of the Maldives’ important European source markets, while the new route could also support wider access for travellers connecting through French Bee’s network.
French Bee’s existing operations include services linking Paris with destinations in the United States and French Polynesia. This could allow passengers from North America and Tahiti to connect through Paris onto the new Maldives service, widening the potential feeder market for the route.
The airline has positioned the new service around demand for Indian Ocean leisure travel, with the Maldives expected to attract beach resort holidaymakers while Sri Lanka draws travellers interested in culture, nature and wellness tourism.
