Air Arabia has become the first foreign airline to commence operations from the new terminal at Velana International Airport (VIA). The airline, based in the United Arab Emirates, is the second carrier overall to operate from the facility, following the national airline.

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), which manages VIA, held a special ceremony to mark the start of Air Arabia’s services from the new terminal. The airline currently operates one flight a day to the Maldives but plans to increase to two daily scheduled flights from 27 October this year.

MACL revealed that discussions are under way with several other carriers, including Chongjin Airlines, Beond, Xiamen Air, Oman Air, Fits Aviation, US-Bangla Airlines, Bangkok Airways, and Batik Air, to begin operations from the terminal.

The company aims to complete the full transition of services to the new terminal by the end of next month, ahead of the peak tourism season.