Operations at Hanimaadhoo International Airport, which is preparing for its
official opening next month, were transferred to the new terminal on Thursday.
Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), which operates the airport, stated
that operations commenced on the ground floor of the new terminal Thursday.
The company added that with this transition, the airport can now accommodate
Code-C aircraft, which are among the largest types of airplanes.
MACL Managing Director Ibrahim Shareef Mohamed previously told
"Mihaaru News" that the new terminal was brought into use prior to the
official opening because the old terminal needs to be demolished to fully
utilize the airport's new runway. Operations have been relocated
to the new terminal, and work will now begin on dismantling the old terminal.
The new Hanimaadhoo Airport terminal is scheduled to be officially
inaugurated on the 9th of next month.
The Hanimaadhoo Airport development, financed by a loan from India, is currently
one of the largest airport development projects underway in the Maldives.
The airport contract was awarded during the former President
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration to India's Kalpataru Projects in September 2022.
Under the project, work is currently progressing on a new 2.7-kilometer
runway, a new terminal capable of serving 1.3 million passengers annually, a
new Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, a cargo building, and a fuel farm.

The runway, which has been upgraded to accommodate the largest aircraft, was
completed last year.
The project is being funded with USD 136 million (MVR 2 billion) from the USD 800
million Line of Credit provided by the Exim Bank of India.