Male’, Maldives, 16th August 2022 – Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has revealed glimpses of the new Vilu Business Lounge at the recently completed Noovilu seaplane terminal at Velana International Airport (VIA).
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This terminal is set to become the largest seaplane terminal in the world. The modern 4-story terminal includes new facilities such as a VVIP area and dedicated arrival lobbies. The terminal’s 28,000 sqm of floor space allows for spacious lounges, extra boarding gates and a host of office spaces. In addition to this, the new terminal area is designed to accommodate more than 85 seaplanes on docks, which is 50% more than the existing docks.
Noovilu seaplane terminal is the first part of the airport development project, which also includes a brand new runway, and an international passenger terminal as well as other supporting facilities such as a fuel farm with a capacity of 45 million liters and a 120,000 tonne cargo facility. The new seaplane terminal was given high priority under the airport development project as the new Code F runway can be opened once the current seaplane terminal is cleared. Hence, the new runway will start operating upon the opening of the new seaplane terminal.
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The terminal has been designed according to international standards with full NFPA fire compliances. According to MACL, this terminal will allow 4 operators to operate conveniently with ease. There are currently 3 seaplane operators in the Maldives: Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA), Maldivian, and Manta Air.