- Ibrahim Nasir International Airport
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Ibrahim Nasir International Airport
އިބްރާހިމް ނާސިރު ބައިނަލްއަޤުވާމީ ވައިބަނދަރު
View of Malé Airport on final approach IATA: MLE – ICAO: VRMM Location of airport in Maldives
MLESummary Airport type Public Operator GMR Male International Airport Pvt. Ltd (GMIAL) Serves Malé Location Hulhulé Island, Maldives Elevation AMSL 6 ft / 2 m Coordinates 04°11′30″N 073°31′45″E / 4.19167°N 73.52917°E Website Runways Direction Length Surface m ft 18/36 3,200 10,499 Asphalt Source: DAFIF[1][2] 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. In early 2010, the government began considering privatising the airport in order to develop it further. On 15 July 2010, the airport was privatised following a concession agreement between GMR Group, India and Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAHB).[3] 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).[4][5]
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.
Contents
History
Hulhulé Airport
Ibrahim Nasir International first started out as a small strip of land in the then inhabited island of Hulhulé. Hulhulé Airport was opened on 19 October 1960. The first runway built on Hulhulé Island was made of slotted steel sheets. The dimension of this runway was 75 x 3000 feet. The first aircraft, which landed at the airport, was a Royal New Zealand Air Force Transport plane on 19 October 1960 at 13:55hrs. The first commercial flight was an Air Ceylon flight (4R0ACJ) landed on this runway was at 15:50hrs on 10 April 1962. The first aircraft owned by the Maldives landed on the runway of the Hulhulé Airport on 9 October 1974.[6]
New runway
In May 1964, the government and the people of Malé worked together to construct a new asphalt runway. The work was carried out in a competitive atmosphere with the competition between the four districts of Malé, the fastest district winning prize money of Rufiyaa 1000/-. On the first day itself 108 volunteers were enlisted for the project and 1563.08 Maldivian Rufiya were donated.
The asphalt runway constructed by the hard work of Maldivians was opened on 12 April 1966 at 16:00hrs by the former president Ibrahim Nasir.[6]
Upgrade to Malé International Airport
When the tourism industry in the Maldives began in 1972, the country was in need of an international standard airport to transport tourists to the resort islands. So, on 11 November 1981, the airport was officially inaugurated under a new name of "Malé International Airport". The airport was inaugurated by the then-president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.[6]
Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL)
As the airport started hosting frequent and numerous flights, the need for a corporate entity to manage the airport was realised. Thus, Maldives Airports Company Ltd. (MACL) was formed on 1 January 1994 and is the financially and administratively independent corporate entity that manages the airport. MACL is governed by the Board of Directors appointed by the President of the Maldives.[7]
Privatisation of the airport
On 20 June 2010, the government opened a bidding ceremony for private companies who wanted to manage and develop Malé International Airport. Out of 3 international consortium bids including Flughafen Zürich AG-GVK Industries Ltd. and TAV Airport Holidings-Aéroports de Paris, the bid was won by the consortium between GMR Group and Malaysia Airports who provided Rufiyaa 1 Billion [8] upfront to the government for the lease of the airport.
On 28 July 2010, a public-private partnership in managing the airport was signed between the Maldivian government and officials of GMR Group and Malaysia Airports, leasing the airport to the consortium for 25 years.[9][10] The consortium's aim is to develop MIA into a global standard airport by the year 2014.
In September 2010, GMR registered "GMR Malé International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (GMIAL)" as the new operator of the airport.[11]
On 25 November 2010, MACL officially handed over the aerodrome license of Malé International Airport to GMIAL.[4]
MACL will continue to manage the other airports in Maldives.
Airport Management
More than 1200 employees from Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) will be transferred to GMR Malé International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (GMIAL) as part of the privatisation.[12] After this transfer, MACL will only be responsible for Air Traffic Control, Aviation Security Command and some smaller offices. All other departments that MACL was managing previously will be transferred to GMIAL.[3]
Airport upgrade
The agreement signed between the Maldives government and GMR Group included the upgrading and renovation of the airport up to the standard of a global airport by the year 2014.
GMIAL announced that the development plans included reclaiming more land at the northern end of the runway; where a new terminal is to be built. This terminal will consist of 3 separate bridged buildings and will consist of elements that reflect the traditional Maldivian resort. Plans for a separate cargo terminal was also announced.[13]
Name change
On 26th July 2011 (Independence Day of the Maldives), the Maldivian government officially changed the name of the airport to 'Ibrahim Nasir International Airport'.[14] This change was brought in memory of the late Ibrahim Nasir, 2nd President of the Maldives for initiating the airport in 1960, as well as for commemorating his work in the independence of Maldives. [15][16]
Statistics
As of December 2010, SriLankan Airlines is the largest foreign carrier into Maldives with 40 flights a week. Bandaranaike International Airport is the most common direct stop out of the Maldives as it is served by SriLankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka, Emirates and Oman Air who operate a combined total of up to 10 flights daily between Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Facilities
The airport resides at an elevation of 6 feet (2 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 18/36 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,200 by 45 metres (10,499 × 148 ft).[1]
Airlines and destinations
Airlines Destinations Aeroflot Moscow-Sheremetyevo Air Berlin Düsseldorf, Munich Air India Bangalore, Thiruvanathapuram Air Italy Bologna, Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino Arkefly Seasonal: Amsterdam [begins 25 June 2012] Austrian Airlines Seasonal: Vienna Bangkok Airways Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi Blue Panorama Airlines Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fumicino British Airways London-Gatwick China Eastern Airlines Kunming China Southern Airlines Guangzhou Condor Frankfurt Edelweiss Air Zürich Emirates Colombo, Dubai Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Hainan Airlines Beijing-Capital Hong Kong Airlines Charter: Hong Kong Jetairfly Brussels Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur Maldivian Gan Island, Hanimaadhoo, Kaadedhdhoo, Kadhdhoo, Thiruvananthapuram Mega Maldives Beijing-Capital, Chongqing [begins 25 November], Gan Island, Hong Kong, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong Mihin Lanka Colombo Meridiana Fly Bologna, Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino Monarch London-Gatwick, Manchester Neos Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino Oman Air Colombo, Muscat Qatar Airways Doha Shanghai Airlines Shanghai-Pudong Sichuan Airlines Chengdu Singapore Airlines Singapore SriLankan Airlines Colombo, London-Heathrow, Tokyo-Narita, Zurich [begins 23 December] Thomson Airways London-Gatwick, Manchester Transaero Moscow-Domodedovo
Seasonal: Moscow-SheremetyevoXL Airways France Paris-Charles de Gaulle Incidents and accidents
- On 13 May 1986, in an operation carried out by the LTTE, a bomb on a Air Lanka Flight 512 (now SriLankan Airlines) Lockheed L-1011 exploded while passengers were boarding for a short-hop flight from Colombo to Malé. 14 people were killed, and the airplane was written off.
- On 18 October 1995 an Air Maldives Dornier 228 abruptly turned right, left the runway, struck the seawall and somersaulted into the adjacent lagoon while landing. The plane was written off.[17]
- On 15 August 1996 a Hummingbird Helicopters MIL Mi-8P lost control after takeoff due to the non-availability of hydraulic pressure. Only 4 people received minor injuries.[17]
- On 17 May 2004, a Trans Maldivian Airways, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300 collided with the sea-wall of runway 18 after experiencing problems taking off from the seaplane base. Both pilots and one passenger were seriously injured in the accident. The aircraft was written off.[17]
See also
- List of airports in Maldives
References
- ^ a b Airport information for VRMM from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
- ^ Airport information for MLE at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ a b http://www.gmrgroup.in/corporate/pressreleasedetail.aspx?id=242
- ^ http://www.haveeru.com.mv/?page=details&id=103749
- ^ a b c [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/details/32504/GMR_to_take_over_airport_operations_after_advanced_payment
- ^ [7]
- ^ http://www.haveeru.com.mv/english/details/33546
- ^ http://www.haveeru.com.mv/?page=details&id=114779
- ^ http://maldives.net.mv/1962/male-international-airport-to-become-ibrahim-nasir-international-airport/
- ^ http://www.maldivestraveller.mv/news/local/ibrahim-nasir-international-airport/238/
- ^ a b c http://www.aviainfo.gov.mv/publications/accidents/2008_1.php
External links
Categories:- Airports in the Maldives
- Aviation in the Maldives
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