Connecting at Malé airport

Connection time calculator, immigration and security, and how to move between terminals at MLE.

How connections work at MLE

At Malé Velana airport, passengers connecting between two international flights can usually stay in the transit area without going through immigration. If you connect from an international to a domestic flight, you enter the country here: you go through immigration and collect and re-check your bags.

The airport has 3 terminals or concourses (Terminal 1 (international), Terminal 2 (domestic), Seaplane terminal). They are not connected after security: changing means going through security again.

Connecting passengers go through a transfer security screening.

Connection time calculator

Is your layover at MLE long enough? Pick your connection and get an estimate with the times of this airport.

Terminals / concourses: Terminal 1 (international), Terminal 2 (domestic), Seaplane terminal

Getting between them: Short landside transfer between Terminals 1 and 2; seaplane operators run their own shuttles to the seaplane terminal

The new Terminal 1 handles all international flights (since October 2025) and the old international building, now Terminal 2, only domestic flights (since February 2026). The seaplane terminal is a separate complex a short drive away. Transfers between terminals are landside, on the same small island.

  • On one booking, 90 minutes is usually comfortable for a domestic connection; on separate tickets or with a seaplane leg allow 2 to 3 hours.
  • Seaplanes only fly in daylight (about 6am to 5pm) and check-in closes around 3:30pm: a late international arrival may mean a night in Malé.
  • If your resort booking includes the seaplane, its representative meets you in arrivals and handles the transfer.

Estimate based on typical times at this airport, not your airline's official minimum connection time. Immigration and security lines change with the time of day and season. On a single ticket, the airline must rebook you if you miss the connection; on separate tickets, it does not.

Sources: layoverindex.com.

Times are estimates: always check with your airline.

More about MLE

Airport guide Departures Arrivals