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Velana International Airport (MLE): arrival & transit guide

What to expect landing at Velana International Airport in Male, Maldives: the arrival flow, transit rules, and onward transport.

Velana International Airport, on its own island next to Male, is the arrival point for essentially every visitor to the Maldives. International flights use a dedicated international terminal, separate from the smaller terminal handling domestic and Maldivian check-in traffic, so onward domestic and seaplane connections mean moving between buildings rather than staying in one.

The Maldives issues a tourist visa on arrival, free of charge, to nearly every nationality, one of the more open arrival processes on this list; the arrivals area holds passport control and baggage claim in sequence, with the visa itself simply stamped in as part of that same check rather than a separate stop.

Onward travel from Velana is rarely a taxi ride, since most visitors are headed to a resort island rather than Male itself: allow real time, at least an hour or more, to clear immigration, collect bags, and reach a connecting resort transfer, whether that is a speedboat, which generally runs at any hour, or a seaplane, which only operates in daylight and stops running by roughly mid-afternoon. Confirm your resort's own transfer method and timing before you fly rather than assuming one is available on arrival.

A ferry and taxis also connect the airport island to Male itself for anyone staying in the capital.

All passports for Maldives