Velana International Airport Makes Adjustments to Accommodate Increasing Number of International Flights

For the year-end holidays, Maldives; the sunny side of life, has been packed with international arrivals. As a result, the main international airport in the country, Velana International Airport, is experiencing extremely hectic air traffic these days.

Via a tweet yesterday, the operator of the airport, Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), has announced the decision to shift domestic operations to the north apron. Meanwhile, the west apron of the current international terminal is also being speedily developed for international aircraft parking as well.

The latest statistics from the Ministry of Tourism shows that there are presently 25 airlines operating internationally to the Maldives. Four more airlines are expected to commence operations in the near future. As of 21^st December, the most number of flight movements since the border reopening has been recorded from Emirates Airlines, counting up to 398 movements accounting for a total of 39,434 passengers.

Aside from this, the number of jet landings have also increased as well. During the month of November, the airport welcomed 244 jets, which is a stunning increase by 142% In jet landings when compared to the same period last year.

Since border reopening in July, the Maldives have welcomed over 100k tourists while the number totals up to over 500k, when counting from the beginning of the year.