VueloSimple has recently released their rendition of Velana International Airport (VRMM) for Microsoft Flight Simulator, the main international airport in the Maldives, serving its Capital city, Malé.

What once started as a small strip of land in the early 1960s became a proper airport only four years later, when the government and its people gathered together to build an asphalt runway: four city districts competed for who could be the fastest. Two years later, the runway was opened and ready for commercial action.

‍

The upgrade to International status happened a decade after the initial tourism boom, with its official inauguration as Malé International Airport in 1981. 

‍

A few years ago, the administration expanded the airport with a new runway (that was serving as a taxiway until 2022 because there was an old seaplane terminal near it that was too close). They have also been building a new passenger terminal, a long-term project scheduled to reach completion by 2025. It features an area of around 78,000 square meters, serving up to 7.3 million passengers a year instead of its current capacity of only 1 million.

‍

It’s a hub for Maldivian and Trans Maldivian Airways. Aeroflot, AirAsia, Air France, Air India, Austrian Airlines, Batik Air Malaysia, British Airways, China Eastern Airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Gulf Air, ITA Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and WizzAir visit it.

‍

The scenery features an accurate rendition of the airport, with its new passenger terminal (and interior), updated runway, custom taxiways, custom night lighting, LOD optimization, and more.

‍

It’s available on SimMarket for roughly $15.88, requiring at least 415.68 MB of free hard disk space to install.

Stay tuned to Threshold for more flight simulation news!

‍