Beond, the all-business-class Maldivian airline, will start flying three times a week from Zurich to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Airport from December 2026, expanding its premium leisure network into the Gulf. The route will be operated with an all lie-flat Airbus A319 or A321, aimed at high-end holidaymakers heading to the new Red Sea resort destination.
The premium carrier says it will operate three weekly flights from Zurich to the Red Sea International Airport, alongside similar services from London, Paris and Moscow, plus two weekly flights from Munich. The Milan route, which ran last winter, is also scheduled to resume in October with two flights a week.
“This is another important step in accelerating the growth of regenerative tourism, and welcoming more guests to experience a destination unlike any other,” said John Pagano, Group CEO of Red Sea Global.
The flights are part of a broader push to connect European cities with the Red Sea project, a planned tourism mega-development off Saudi Arabia’s western coast. For Swiss travellers, it means a new direct option to a destination that until now has mostly been served via Dubai or other Gulf hubs.
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For Swiss Travellers: Zurich Is One Of Beond’s Core European Bases
Zurich is one of Beond’s core European bases, and the airline has been building its presence there since launching flights to the Maldives with a technical stop in Riyadh. The decision to add the Red Sea route underlines the airport’s role as a key market for the carrier’s premium leisure model.
Beond’s expansion comes after it temporarily suspended some European flights this summer but kept its Middle Eastern services running, with plans to restart Zurich–Dubai–Malé flights in October and increase frequency in December. The new Red Sea link is an additional element in that strategy, offering a different destination from the airline’s core Maldives product.
Beond started operations in 2023 and quickly gained attention for its all-business-class, lie-flat-only cabins on routes to the Maldives and Gulf. It has since added multiple European cities and begun developing its own Saudi subsidiary, after receiving a national charter licence from the Saudi aviation authority.
The new Zurich–Red Sea route is part of that growth. The airline says it will also be equipping additional Airbus A321s with custom lie-flat cabins to support its expanding premium leisure network.
