Maldivian Airlines has inaugurated a weekly Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) – Xi’an (Xianyang) service, its first scheduled route into north-western China and a pivotal addition to the carrier’s 2026 network strategy. Operated with a 158-seat Airbus A320 configured for two classes, flight Q2 603 departs Bangkok every Friday morning, arriving in Xi’an mid-afternoon; the return sector leaves the historic Silk-Road city on Saturday, continuing onward to Malé via Bangkok.
The new flight effectively creates a triangular leisure and MICE corridor linking the Maldives, Thailand and inland China. Destination marketers in Shaanxi province have been working with tour operators to bundle “snow-view Terracotta Warriors” packages that culminate in Indian Ocean resort stays, while Maldivian resorts are eyeing meetings incentives from Xi’an’s booming high-tech sector. According to ForwardKeys data, Xi’an accounted for 3.4 percent of all Chinese outbound seats in 2025 but had no nonstop services to Southeast Asia until this launch.
![Maldivian Airlines Opens Bangkok–Xi’an Link, Connecting Northwest China to the Indian Ocean]()
To simplify the multi-country paperwork involved, travellers can tap VisaHQ’s one-stop platform: the service walks Chinese citizens through Thailand’s fee-free e-VOA, assists Thai and Maldivian passport holders with Chinese visa submissions, and provides real-time status tracking for all. A quick check at https://www.visahq.com/china/ outlines requirements and processing times.
For corporate mobility planners the connection offers an additional one-stop option between Central China and South Asia without routing through Beijing or Guangzhou. Cargo belly capacity (two tonnes per sector) is available for high-value electronics exports from the Xi’an Hi-Tech Zone, and the airline has signalled interest in upgrading frequency to twice-weekly for the summer IATA season subject to load factors.
Chinese passengers transiting Bangkok continue to benefit from Thailand’s extended fee-free e-visa-on-arrival programme, while Maldivian grants 30-day visa-free entry to all nationalities. Travellers should note that the Xi’an flight uses Suvarnabhumi’s newer Concourse D, where minimum connect times to SkyTeam partners are 75 minutes.
The new flight effectively creates a triangular leisure and MICE corridor linking the Maldives, Thailand and inland China. Destination marketers in Shaanxi province have been working with tour operators to bundle “snow-view Terracotta Warriors” packages that culminate in Indian Ocean resort stays, while Maldivian resorts are eyeing meetings incentives from Xi’an’s booming high-tech sector. According to ForwardKeys data, Xi’an accounted for 3.4 percent of all Chinese outbound seats in 2025 but had no nonstop services to Southeast Asia until this launch.
To simplify the multi-country paperwork involved, travellers can tap VisaHQ’s one-stop platform: the service walks Chinese citizens through Thailand’s fee-free e-VOA, assists Thai and Maldivian passport holders with Chinese visa submissions, and provides real-time status tracking for all. A quick check at https://www.visahq.com/china/ outlines requirements and processing times.
For corporate mobility planners the connection offers an additional one-stop option between Central China and South Asia without routing through Beijing or Guangzhou. Cargo belly capacity (two tonnes per sector) is available for high-value electronics exports from the Xi’an Hi-Tech Zone, and the airline has signalled interest in upgrading frequency to twice-weekly for the summer IATA season subject to load factors.
Chinese passengers transiting Bangkok continue to benefit from Thailand’s extended fee-free e-visa-on-arrival programme, while Maldivian grants 30-day visa-free entry to all nationalities. Travellers should note that the Xi’an flight uses Suvarnabhumi’s newer Concourse D, where minimum connect times to SkyTeam partners are 75 minutes.
