Island Aviation comments the Maafaru Airport at Noonu atoll will be operated in an international capacity from July 2020 onward.
The Island Aviation Director of Ground Operations Ahmed Ibrahim, during an interview with TVM confirmed works were currently underway to prepare the airport to carry out international flight operations.
According to him, specific changes were made to the airport in order to bring it up to the capacity of running international operations, while several additional facilities were established to make it on par with international standard airports.
“We are hopeful the airport will be fully equipped to run international flight operations by 1 July when international travel commence in Maldives under new normal,” said Ahmed Ibrahim.
The airport was opened officially on 1 January 2020.
Maafaru International Airport, developed through a grant from Abu Dhabi Fund, was designed to accommodate Airbus A330 class flights.
According to Maldives government, the Fund finalized a grant of USD52 million (MVR801 million) for the project. The project included other facilities such as a city hotel, VIP terminal among other facilities adjacent to the airport area.
However, after the initial contractor was found guilty of running a scandal regarding the project the provisions for a city hotel and VIP terminal were omitted with the new grant from the Fund finalized at USD48 million (MVR740 million).
The airport’s runway stretch 2200 meters in length and 40 meters in width.