On the ramp at Velana, not just in the cargo terminal
Cargo transshipment and aircraft handling are the same airport, the same authorities and the same people. Avia Maldives, the aviation services arm of the Avia group, handles aircraft movements at Velana International Airport (VRMM) — permits, slots, ramp handling and passenger formalities — which gives our cargo desk a direct line to the ground operation it depends on.
Handling an aircraft on the ground at MLE
Private and business aviation handling at Velana, run around the turnaround rather than around a checklist.
Jet flight handling
Full handling for private and business jet movements at Velana, from arrival on stand through to departure, supervised by agents who work the airport every day.
Fuel stop handling
Turnaround handling built around getting the aircraft refuelled and flight-ready in the shortest practical time on the ground.
VIP meet and greet
Passengers met on arrival and walked through the airport formalities, with CIP and VIP lounge access arranged where required.
In-flight catering
Catering ordered, prepared and loaded to the specification the operator sets, ahead of departure.
The paperwork that decides whether the flight happens
Permits and slots at Velana are not a formality. They have lead times, they have mandatory fields, and a schedule submitted as TBA is rejected outright. These are the items we handle before an aircraft is committed to the routing.
- Allow 4 to 5 daysLanding permits & airport slotsPermit applications and slot requests lodged with the authorities at Velana. Straightforward requests can clear quickly, but the lead time is what protects the schedule.
- 2 to 3 business daysOverflight permitsOverflight authorisations for Maldivian airspace. Urgent cases can sometimes be expedited, entirely at the discretion of the Civil Aviation Authority.
- Submitted with the applicationPermit documentationAircraft registration, operator details, the full flight schedule, crew and passenger counts and billing details are all required. A schedule submitted as TBA will not be accepted.
- 24 hours in advanceVIP / CIP lounge accessLounge access arranged for arriving and departing passengers, which requires passport details to be lodged for Immigration and Customs approval in advance.
- On arrivalAircraft disinsectionDisinsection arranged where an international flight arrives from an endemic region, with emptied canisters handed over to the Port Health Authority as required.
- Before arrivalImmigration & Gendec supportGeneral Declaration handling plus crew and passenger visa requirements worked through with Immigration before the aircraft arrives.
Lead times are indicative and set by the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority and the airport operator, not by us. Expedited handling is always at their discretion.
Why a cargo company talks about ramp handling
A charter arriving with cargo needs the permit, the slot and the ramp handling to line up with the cargo acceptance. Running both sides through one group removes the gap between them.
When a connection at MLE slips, knowing the people on the ramp is the difference between finding out now and finding out when the flight has gone.
Operators positioning an aircraft through Velana get one contact for the regulatory work and one for the cargo, rather than assembling a handling chain from scratch.
Aircraft handling enquiries
Flight handling at Velana is arranged through Avia Maldives, which runs a 24/7 operations line. Cargo enquiries stay with our MLE desk.
Moving an aircraft and cargo through Velana?
Send the routing and the dates. We will come back on the permit lead time, the slot position and the cargo side together, rather than one at a time.