Velana International Airport is the main airport that serves over 99% of tourist arrivals to the county. It is located on a separate island that is connected to the capital Male’ with a 1.3 km long bridge.

If you have booked a hotel in Male’ it takes only 10 minutes to get there by taxi, there are no metros at present. A scheduled bus is not frequent enough and a taxi is easier as it would drive up to the hotel. Velana airport is also connected to the newly developed city called Hulhumale’ which takes a 10-minute drive.

Male’ is the capital and the economic hub of the country, Hulhumale’ is far less congested and small hotels (3-star) welcome most of the tourists who want to stay overnight near the airport.

In Velana International Airport there are 4 main terminals. Most of the tourists are family with the international arrival and departure terminal. The airport was opened on 12 April 1966 and it has been over 30 years old for the current international terminals. Despite being small in size there are usual facilities in each. Since tourism is the dominant economic activity in the country the airport is tourist friendly and different services are organised to blend with tourist services.

The airport was initially called Male’ International Airport. The name is still synonymous among the locals as well as tourists. Maldives still uses old-style staircases instead of extendable gates to connect with aircraft. This means there is a bus to transfer passengers between the aircraft and the terminal.

If you have taken the fast track service from Priority Maldives there will be a separate vehicle (shared with other VIPs) to take you to one of the designated lounges where passport processing takes place in comfort. At the same time, you enjoy food and drinks included in the package.

Otherwise, the regular bus takes all passengers to the arrival terminal upon landing. While the passengers of CIP or VIP packages enjoy the comfort of the lounge the regular tourists have to queue up at the immigration for passport processing. After passing through the Customs they manage to reach the exit in about 45 – 90 minutes.

At the exit, there would be representatives from travel agents and resorts to display name boards to receive guests. Most of the resorts have small counters in case you can’t find an official from your chosen resort. The Help Desk is located in between the 2 terminals, that is where you could go if you still need help and they would always call the agent or resort without any fees.

There are some food and beverage outlets such as Burger King, The Coffee Club, KFC, Secret Recipe and more. If you are arriving at the airport for departure and you would like to have some food you should do so before doing the check-in. After proceeding through the immigration there are very few dining options.

If you want to relax there is Leeli Lounge, but there is no way to do fast-tracking if you plan to stay there. There is an adequate number of Duty-Free shops for a small airport. You can buy watches, perfumes, and souvenirs. If you require any medication there is a small outlet outside the terminal. If you want to withdraw USD cash from an ATM there is one near the Domestic Terminal.  

Seaplane flies only in the daytime. Tourists arriving after 16:00 would have to stay overnight at the capital Male’ or nearby Hulhumale’. The latter is more popular as many affordable hotels offer clean rooms and local restaurants serve international cuisine as well as Maldivian. You can book a room with airport shuttle and pass on the flight details during the reservation.

Most of the hotels would receive you and quickly drive off to the hotel. If you have not booked a private transfer it would always be combined with other guests, sometimes with guests from multiple hotels. The seaplane terminal is located far from other terminals and access is restricted. To get there you need to visit the seaplane counter at the international terminal from where a bus or private vehicle is arranged as per your reservation.

The seaplane terminal is closer to Hulhumale’ than the international terminal. However, hotels do not have permits to directly drive to the seaplane terminal. There are 2 seaplane operators in the Maldives. TMA is the most popular company as it is the world’s largest seaplane operator. The local company called Maldivian operates both seaplane as well as domestic flights, it also manages some of the airports such as Maafaru International Airport and Dharavandhoo Airport.

The seaplane flies only in the daytime. If your departure flight from Maldives is at night you will arrive at the airport before sunset, depending on flight movements you may have to arrive even earlier in the afternoon.

If you are on SQ or EK then there is plenty of time to spend at the airport before check-in starts. For such a situation, you can either take a day-use room in Hulhumale’ or Male’. If you have taken fast track service from Priority Maldives they would often advise you and help you reserve the room, receive and escort you to the hotel.

If you are on QR or UL then the wait is not as long. Still, it may be tiring to stay in the airport for 3 hours. To spend a few hours, one of the best ways is to leave your luggage in the airport luggage storage service and visit Male’ for sightseeing or shopping to buy souvenirs.

The luggage storage service charges something like $12 per piece and there are taxis available to drive off to Male’ for $10 each way. Alternatively, you can visit Hulhumale’, stroll at the beachside and try local cafeterias and tea-time snacks.

If you need basic pharmaceuticals there is a pharmacy in the airport. If you need to withdraw cash the Bank Of Maldives ATM allows a maximum of US$1600. Most of the ATMs serve local MVR currency. There is only 1 ATM in Velana International Airport that dispenses USD, it is located near the domestic terminal. You should be looking for a “BML” signboard in a red colour.

The latest addition the Maldives Airport (MLE) is the fleet of air ambulances. Since Maldives has small islands that are dispersed over a large area it becomes a challenge for the government to provide advanced healthcare. So, in every atoll, there is a bigger hospital with more facilities. However, most of the major healthcare services are centrally located in the capital Male’ and every day there are locals arriving at the capital island for medical services.

The introduction of an airport ambulance is an advancement brought to the existing Sea Ambulance fleet. Now the islands that have airports or are located near can use Air Ambulances to transfer risky patients, the National Health Insurance scheme covers it. Remote islands can use the Seaplane Ambulance. The Island Aviation Services Ltd operates both. It is also available for tourists who require urgent medical assistance, depending on availability.

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AirAdvisor is a claims management company who fight for air passenger rights. As experts in the area they have shared their help with AirlinRatings.

Joanna Teljeur, senior Editor and Writer at AirAdvisor shares the following.

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