Velana International Airport (VIA) has expanded its international cargo network with the launch of scheduled freighter services by Raya Airways, introducing the airport’s first regular freighter connection with Malaysia.
The new service commenced on Friday, August 14, connecting Penang and Malé with two scheduled flights each week.
Operated by Raya Airways and chartered by Southeast Asian logistics provider Teleport, the route introduces dedicated cargo capacity between Malaysia and the Maldives while providing new connections for cargo moving through Malé to other international markets.
The flights are operated using Boeing 767-200 freighter aircraft, making Raya Airways the first airline to operate a scheduled widebody freighter service to Velana International Airport.
Each flight provides an average cargo payload capacity of approximately 46 tonnes.
While VIA has previously received charter freighter operations from the region, the launch of Raya Airways marks the first time regular dedicated freighter capacity has been established between Penang and Malé. It is also the airport’s first scheduled freighter service originating from Malaysia.
A significant share of the cargo carried on the route is expected to travel beyond the Maldives.
According to Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL), approximately 80 to 90 percent of cargo transported on the service is expected to be transshipment cargo, strengthening Malé’s emerging role as a connecting point for international freight.
The development comes as VIA increasingly positions itself as a cargo gateway connecting South and Southeast Asian markets with destinations further afield.
Malé’s location, combined with the large number of international passenger flights operating through VIA, provides opportunities for cargo arriving by dedicated freighters or sea freight to connect onwards through the airport’s broader airline network.
Raya Airways becomes the second scheduled dedicated freighter operator to join VIA’s cargo network.
MACL has been working to attract additional cargo operators and diversify the destinations connected to the Maldives as part of broader efforts to develop VIA into a regional transshipment gateway.
The airport has already recorded considerable freighter activity during the first seven months of 2026.
Between January and July, VIA handled 3,228 tonnes of cargo carried on dedicated freighter services across 390 aircraft movements.
Freighter operations during the period connected Malé with Bengaluru, Chennai, Yangon, Colombo, Bangkok, Dubai and Hanoi.
For comparison, VIA handled more than 4,300 tonnes of freighter cargo across 518 freighter movements throughout 2025.
The addition of Penang further expands that network and provides shippers in Southeast Asia with another route into Malé and onwards to other markets.
The development also comes alongside growth in VIA’s sea-to-air transshipment business.
Sea-to-air services were introduced at the airport in May 2024, combining comparatively lower-cost maritime transport into the Maldives with faster onward transportation by air. Seventeen airlines currently uplift sea-to-air cargo from VIA, with major cargo flows originating from locations including Dhaka, Tuticorin, Colombo and Mumbai.
As of July 2026, 1,478 tonnes of transshipment cargo had been uplifted through VIA to destinations primarily in Europe and the Americas, representing six percent growth compared with the January-to-July period last year.
The launch of Raya Airways adds dedicated widebody freighter capacity to that expanding cargo ecosystem, with the high proportion of expected transshipment traffic further supporting MACL’s efforts to establish Velana International Airport as a regional cargo gateway.
