Malaysia's RAYA Airways have begun routing scheduled cargo flights to Velana International Airport (VIA).
The first flight via the airway has begun. Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) stated that the flights will be going back and forth from Penang, Malaysia to Male'.
There will be two flights per week spread across two days and will make use of a Maersk Air Cargo Boeing 767-200. MACL said that each flight will average 46 tonnes of cargo.
MACL went on to say that the flight has established a direct link to Penang, and that it is the first cargo flight that has been scheduled by Malaysia. The service is being chartered by South East Asian logistics company Teleport. MACL also said that the flights will allow goods to be transported regularly between Maldives and South Asia.
80 percent to 90 percent of the cargo being lifted from the flights is transshipment cargo.
RAYA Airways is the second cargo airline that has scheduled flights to VIA. MACL said that VIA is being developed as a transshipment gateway.
VIA has handled a vast amount of cargo from January 2026 until July 2026, which were goods that have been handled via 390 cargo flights totaling 3,228 tonnes of cargo having been handles. These flights have allowed VIA to connect with some important destinations. This includes Bangalore, Chennai, Yangon, Colombo, Bangkok, Dubai and Hanoi. Last year saw many cargo flights from VIA as well, with 518 cargo flights having been conducted, totaling more than 4,300 tonnes in cargo.
