A beautiful airport on the island. When approaching the airport, it is a wonderful sight to look at from the plane window. The airport is well maintained. It is clean. There are lots of cafe at the airport. Being in an island, there is ferry service to go to any place. Ferry service is frequent and well connected.
Nothing much to shout about but it is definitely one cool airport to land to...clean water, lots of hotels and resorts booth available for you to pick. Nearby to the $1 ferry trip to the city.
The airport is quite basic but caters to all needs of tourists. Most hotel ferries pick people directly from airport. There is a food court for quick bite. My favourite thing about this airport is the landing and take off views from the air... They are simply marvellous! Sharing shots and videos of the same.
Probably good airport.
It’s not quite big one but it is still best airport in south region.
All the facilities at airport are quite well and good hospitality.
The Maldives has always been a unique nation. Apart from a period of Portuguese domination in the Sixteenth century and carrying the status of a British Protectorate from 1887 to 1965, the archipelago has been an independent archipelago for at least twenty-five centuries. The Maldives is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement. The Maldives maintains a very cordial relationship with the international community and the Maldivians themselves take pride in their hospitality and friendliness!
Must be renamed to delayport. Don't plan connecting flights with less than 5 hours between them. Domestic terminal staff seems to forget what they're doing here at all.
Update: return flight was cancelled and replaced by one too late for connecting flight, had to argue to get flight one day earlier. Suggest making at least 24 hours connection with local airlines to stay safe.
I was transiting via Maldives after our flight from Frankfurt was rescheduled. There was not much pain. The airport people handed over our boarding passes. We were in through arrival gate. Waited and departed through departure gate.
Don't be upset with the airport to ruin your holiday mood. Just consider you are entering a domestic area instead of an international famous destination.
On arrival you have to fill up the arrival form. As we use budget Airasia, the form is not provided and you can take you time to fill it out at arrival hall
On departure it is not necessary.
Sometimes on departure you might bump into European groups and have to line up just for passenger screening before checking in. If you have time, wait half an hour till they were digested.
The hotel receptions counters are just few stops at the arrival exit. They will take you to the pier also just a minute walk.
On your departure you be back to the same spot.
After checked in, you can proceed to departure gates after immigration and security. Right after security is the duty free.
Gates are at one flight down.
For going to Male, you can buy ferry tickets from the kiosk just before the jetty.
For the constraints it operates on, it's a pretty good airport. For instance the docking facilities for ferries and boars are built in such a way that, it's convenient to get on and off the boat. However the lack of a public wifi or a help desk is kind of inconvenient. Otherwise I personally don't see any major flaws.
Just remember incredible views await you as soon as you leave the airport, it has clearly lived past it's utility. It is crowded, there are long lines at security, customs and check-in. The lounge is cramped and full, ditto for the shopping areas. The Maldivian staff everywhere are for the most part friendly, and happy to help.
Being an international airport, this does not have an WiFi. It's better to inform your hotel a day prior to your arrival. The local SIM card stall available near the food court. The immigration process takes 30 minutes to clear. The ferry to Male is available right at the exit and the fare is 1 USD per passenger. Speedboat jetty is next to the Ferry terminal. The flights which land at Male has bright chance to be delayed as it handles huge traffic with a single runway.
For an international airport which welcomes tourists from all over the world. It does not even provide the basic amenity of a shower room for the convenience for female travelers but only for men.
I visited here back in 2009,man i am proud to say what a place, like truly epic.Although the approach of the aircraft on the way to the airport was quite scary since we were in a 12 seater aircraft and since the winds on the approach are pretty strong, it gave us a scare.After landing the real scare was the sea, which we had to cross to get to the main city through faerie boat.The sea was really rough and the boat guy had to cover it all up from all sides to avoid the water from getting in.Apart from that the Maldives had been a real treat.Nice hotels, cheap food considering you earn in dollars or pounds.The local currency is RUFAIYA.There is a football stadium in the capital city MALE.They also have an artificial sea on the sea side which has no waves and is crystal clear.
Good place to visit. Great atmosphere. One of the best airport considering the land constraints.
Wellness: This is a well maintained Lounge Located at the Landside - Arrival Hall Ground Level. Facilities include Airconditioning, Disabled Access, Flight Informationen, Internet, News & Magazines, Refreshments, Shower, TV, Wifi.
Nice cute and efficient Airport given the tremendous land constraint in this country of "atolls" (islands and islets). A full scale runway ensures effective international connectivity. Perhaps the only way in and out of the region. Smaller Airports like Gan are also coming up , and the next best option are the short haul Seaplanes of Trans Maldivian Airways!
Its a beautiful n well maintained airport..... one can easly pass through immigration process.... its building is awesome....
Amazing view .. Clean and well maintained ... The view just before landing is just amazing. Crystal clear water and white beaches.
Lovely sky view arriving to this airport. Easy immigration process provided that you carry all the necessary documents and welcomed by folks from my resort. Overall, it was a nice experience landing here after a tiring long journey.
Wow Place.. airport b/w sea... It's lovely to be here... Can't be describe .. you can only feel
Wow... One of the International Airport which owned a Most beautiful sky view. Small international airport and a small runaway. But the sceneries are amazing.
A wonder in a Wonderland, facilities made available to the passengers in a grand manner even considering space constraints. Travel assistance is the major focus along with the multi-cuisine restaurants, shops etc,etc.
Small airport but well organised offers good connections to the Maldives resorts and islands via water planes and speed boats. Good for shopping and souvenirs as well with friendly staff. Wifi is only available for the locals using a local number to be able to login but with the help of a friendly staff member from the souvenir shop I was able to connect and check in for the next flight. Alcohol is not allowed and the luggage are controlled and any alcohol not bought from duty free is retained and returned at the exit from country with the claim document received for your retained item.
Wifi service can be improved and offered for free on this airport, excepting this I had good experience getting to/leaving this airport.
One of the worst airports I have ever been in. Aside from the fact that it is run inefficiently, the airport is filthy. There is "Free wifi" but it only works if you have a local number. With the amount of money that flows into this country through tourism, you would think that there is effort placed on the airport.
As the gateway to the Maldives this small international airport is busy and a wee bit tired by modern standards. There are good connections to Male and the resorts via a fleet of seaplanes. As an observant Muslim country alcohol is prohibited so there are no bars or duty free shops. Incoming luggage is also checked so you can't bring it into the country. Booze is available in the resorts but it's very expensive and imbibing is discouraged. Just something to be aware of if you're Irish!
Very nice airport. Domestic and international terminals are separated from each other. Landing at the night is awesome.
small simple little airport by the sea !! once u get out u will have a nice view