Russian national carrier Aeroflot will resume operation to the Maldives next month after receiving assurance from the Maldives government.

Maldives tourism has been severely affected as the number of Russian tourists declined due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For this reason, the industry has been lobbying to resumed direct flights between Russia and the Maldives. The airline requested to resume operation to the Maldives over a month ago.

A letter sent to the Maldives Civil Aviation by Russia's relevant ministry said Aeroflot would be resuming operation on May 13 after stopping suspended operation due to US sanctions.

Although Russia used to be the top source market for tourists, the country has now dropped to number three. The Tourism Ministry's statistics show that 54,624 Russian tourists have visited the Maldives thus far this year. Russia occupies ten percent of tourist arrivals.