Maavaarulaa Airport guide

Maavaarulaa Airport is a small domestic airport in the Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll of the southern Maldives. Its IATA code is RUL and its ICAO code is VRQM. It sits on the island of Maavaarulu, just off the island of Gadhdhoo, and serves the atoll's southern communities.

The Maldives government first awarded the project to a contractor in 2011, then cancelled the contract when no work began. In March 2018 it hired the state-owned Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), in a contract worth about USD 3.7 million. MTCC built the airport in two phases. The first phase delivered the runway, a taxiway and an apron. The second added a passenger terminal, a fire station, staff quarters, a powerhouse, a guard post and a restaurant. Scheduled flights began in July 2020.

The single asphalt runway, 06/24, is 1,200 metres long. It handles turboprop aircraft on short island hops. Regional Airports Company Limited operates the airport. Maldivian flies the scheduled services, linking RUL with Malé, Gan, Kooddoo and Kaadedhdhoo. Maavaarulu is not a resort island, so passengers continue to their final destination by boat.