Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has announced that Velana International Airport (VIA) has set a new record for runway movement on December 22 since the opening of the new runway.
MACL stated that it recorded 228 runway movements on December 22, which includes 104 international, 104 domestic, and 20 general aviation. A large number of tourists visit the Maldives at the end of the year, which is considered the start of the peak for tourism. Many Maldivians also leave abroad for the holidays, which results in high traffic at VIA.
Maldives Immigration has made major changes to the services at VIA to facilitate the high number of passengers. As such, Immigration has added seven counters for departure and 11 counters for arrival. MACL has also requested passengers to arrive at the airport three hours before departure.