Velana

Velana, officially Velana International Airport, is the main international airport of the Maldives. It is located on Hulhulé Island in the Kaafu Atoll, close to Malé, the capital, and serves as the primary gateway for international air travel to the country. The airport is identified by IATA code MLE and ICAO code VRMM. It is operated by the state-owned Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL). The facility opened in 1960 as Malé International Airport and was renamed Velana International Airport in the 2010s. It handles most international passenger traffic and serves as a hub for multiple Maldivian carriers as well as international airlines, with services to destinations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent.

Facilities include a main international terminal and a domestic terminal, with a dedicated seaplane terminal adjacent to the site. Seaplane services connect Velana to many resort islands, a common pattern for domestic access in the archipelago. The airport has undergone multiple expansions and renovations to accommodate growing tourism and security needs, and its capacity expansion projects continue to be a focus of national infrastructure planning. Velana is central to the Maldives’ tourism-driven economy, serving as the principal entry point for most visitors and sustaining aviation and related services across the region.