Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has revealed two regional airports have applied for permits to operate private jets.
The transport ministry said permits have been sought to operate private jets in Maamigili Airport and Kudahuvadhoo Airport. However, the ministry said permission for international operations will be issued after fulfilling certain conditions as per the Civil Aviation regulations regarding Customs, Immigration, quarantine facilities and other establishments.
The transport ministry further said the permanent license for international operations will be issued to Maafaru International Airport once the conditions are fulfilled as per the requirement of the Civil Aviation Authority. The ministry said the operator of Maafaru International Airport has assured the required changes will be brought to its terminal by the end of June. While Maafaru Airport has already operated international chartered flights of A320, A321 and B737 airliners, the ministry said the flights were operated under a temporary license.
The government has been working on developing regional airports for international operations upon reopening borders for tourism, in order to reduce the dependency on Velana International Airport (VIA).