Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (IATA: MLE, ICAO: VRMM), more commonly known as Malé International Airport, previously known as Hulhulé Airport, is the main international airport in the Maldives. It is located on Hulhulé Island in the North Malé Atoll, nearby the capital island Malé.
Today, Ibrahim Nasir International is well connected with major airports around the world, mostly serving as the main gateway into the Maldives for tourists. Moreover, despite the upgrading of Gan Airport to international standard, Ibrahim Nasir International is currently the only internationally active airport in the country.
The airport opened to the public on 12 April 1966. Later, the airport underwent renovation and upgrading to international standard, inaugurating its new name on 11 November 1981. It was managed financially and administratively by an independent corporate entity known as Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), which is governed by a Board of Directors appointed by the President. On 15 July 2010, the airport was privatised following a concession agreement between GMR Group, India and Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAHB). On 25 November 2010, MACL officially handed over the aerodrome license of the then Malé International Airport to the newly formed GMR Male International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (GMIAL).
On 26 July 2011, Male' International Airport was officially renamed as 'Ibrahim Nasir International Airport' in memory of the late Ibrahim Nasir, 2nd President of the Maldives. He is known for initiating the airport in 1960.
Read more about Ibrahim Nasir International Airport: Statistics, Facilities, Airlines and Destinations, Incidents and Accidents, World's Top 10 Airport Approaches
Famous quotes containing the word airport:
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)