Malé Airport: Arrival, resort check-in, speedboat, and sea-plane guide

Though most people call it Male International Airport (including some booking websites), it is officially called Velana International Airport, which was previously known as the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. It is found on Hulhulé Island, which is a 10-minute ferry ride from the tiny Maldivian capital city of Malé. Becuase there aren’t any jetways, your airplane will pull up and park in front of one of the 3 gates available, where you’ll then disembark down a flight of stairs before proceeding into the terminal itself.

Once you’ve done that and you’re inside, it’s a short walk to the Immigration desk, where you’ll usually be processed pretty quickly because tourism is the primary business here. Because of that, they have enough staff to process a plane full of people in roughly 15 minutes or so. This is pretty unheard of anywhere else, and is considered a big plus for visitors who hate waiting at airports in long lines, which I image is most of us.

After Immigration you’ll of course make the short walk to baggage claim. Again, they usually process only one plane at a time at this airport, and it’s pretty small, so you should have your bags not long after you’ve gone through Immigration.

During the process of booking your resort holiday, your chosen resort will contact you to get both of your arrival and departure information. Also, you’ll want to note that you just can’t fly into the Maldives and then decide to choose a resort. This is because all of the transportation is pre-booked and private. So before you even get on your flight to the Maldives, you will already know exactly where to go, and also the resort will know the flight you are on and will be expecting you. This helps to take away a lot of potential travel stress and is a great way to start your holiday.

There are about 40 international flights into the Maldives each day, and most of the resorts might have 10 to 20 incoming guests that day. As a result, they will have a representative at the airport waiting for you when you arrive, but only when they have guests arriving.

Some resorts have an employee who will be waiting for you with your name printed out on a piece of paper that they hold out in front of themselves, while a few of the most expensive resorts have private check-in lounges where you’ll be told to go to. Both of these options are very easy to find and aren’t confusing at all, which will serve as a relief. But most guests will be told to look for a specific counter, where a resort representative will be waiting for them behind a little desk.

After you walk out of the Customs section of the airport, you’ll then walk about 10 steps and you’ll see one group of counters on your right and another on your left. Each has a clearly marked number, so it shouldn’t take more than 1 or 2 minutes before you are standing in the exact right place. Again, this is a relatively simple and easy process.

If your resort is close enough to the airport and can be served by speedboats, the rep will lead you and your group out to the front of the airport, where the speedboat docks are located. You can see in the video posted above, that it’s a walk of about 100 meters or so from the check-in counters to where you’ll step onto the speedboat. It may sound a bit confusing, but it could not be easier or quicker.

>Maldives water villa resorts close to the airport

You might be taking a sea-plane to your resort, especially if your chosen resort is just too far away to be served by a speedboat. Remember that your sea-plane ride is already precooked by way of your reservation online. There aren’t any ferries or other alternatives to select from, meaning your only choice is to book the sea-plane through your resort when you book your resort room.

After you find your resort rep and check in with them, they will then proceed to lead you to the check-in queue of one of the two sea-plane companies ( Trans Maldivian Airways or Maldivian Air Taxi) operating out of the airport. One is much older and larger than the other, and each has contracts with specific resorts so you’ll go with the one that your resort works with. You won’t get to choose yourself which company to use.

Once you’ve checked in for your sea-plane flight,  you’ll be guided to an air-conditioned shuttle bus right behind their check-in counters. Once everyone for your flight has boarded the shuttle bus, it will take the 10-minute drive through several security check-points around the southern tip of the airport and then to the appropriate sea-plane terminal on the east side of the airport.

After about 10 minutes or so you’ll pull into the secured area for sea plane departures, and a representative there will guide you to your particular sea plane. Once everyone is on board, the plane will taxi into the lagoon and then take off for a fun and exciting ride. It’s worth noting that your luggage may not be on the same sea plane as you, but it will get there soon and it should make it all the way to your room without you touching it, which makes travel a bit easier. You can take hand-luggage on the sea planes, but not large bags.

The sea-planes usually make a few stops, so you might be the first to be dropped off, or you might have stopped at another resort or two before you reach yours. The sea planes rides are quite expensive at around US$300 to US$600 per person, including return, but they are also one of the major highlights of almost any trip. The Maldivian islands are gorgeous, and there is no better way to see many of them from the window of a sea-plane. Because of this, many guests will have their phones or cameras out and ready for a few pictures taken through the windows.