Over half a million passengers served as 37 airlines move to VIA’s new Terminal One

The new Terminal One at Velana International Airport (VIA) has served more than 500,000 passengers since its opening, the Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) said on Monday.

The terminal was inaugurated on July 26 with a drone show and a record‑breaking fireworks display to mark Independence Day.

According to MACL, Terminal One has handled 508,008 passengers to date, including 252,340 departures and 255,668 arrivals.

Sunday marked the busiest day so far, with the terminal processing 19,551 passengers in a single day. This included 8,681 departures and 10,870 arrivals.

MACL said 37 airlines are now operating from the new terminal, which is designed to handle 7.5 million passengers annually.

Tourism Ministry statistics released Sunday show that 2.16 million tourists have visited the Maldives so far this year, with Chinese visitors leading at 325,544 arrivals. The government’s target for the year is 2.3 million tourists.