Malaysian low-cost carrier, AirAsia has announced plans to launch direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to the Maldives.

From October 22, 2015, the carrier will operate a three-times-weekly service using a 180-seat, all economy class Airbus A320 aircraft.

According to Spencer Lee, AirAsia Berhad’s Head of Commercial, the Maldives tops the list of ‘must-visit’ destinations for most people, and the requests for flights to the Maldives have been extremely overwhelming.

Flights will depart Kuala Lumpur every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 18:55pm, arriving into Male at 20:10pm. The return service will then depart at 20:55pm, arriving back into the Malaysian capital at 04:30am the next morning, with a flight time of four hours and fifteen minutes.

“The flight schedule for this Kuala Lumpur-Maldives route allows travellers from all other regions such as Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Australia to connect easily using our Fly-Thru service.

Among the destinations which offers Fly-Thru connectivity to Maldives includes Incheon, Osaka, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Bangkok, Penang and Gold Coast,” added Spencer Lee.

The Maldives are made up of 1,190 coral islands formed around 26 natural ring-like atolls, spread over 90,000 square kilometres. 90 percent of the Maldives is made up of sea, making it a popular destination for water sports, snorkelling, diving, night fishing and surfing.

AirAsia is the only airline to offer a direct flight between Kuala Lumpur and the idyllic island destination.

Seats are now available for booking, with promotional fares offered by the airline as low as RM169 (£28.60) until July 26, 2015.