The Maldives is stricter on smoking than its laid-back resort image suggests, and its one international gateway reflects that: Malé Velana International Airport (MLE) is smoke-free indoors apart from a designated smoking lounge airside, with designated outdoor smoking areas landside. The headline rule for visitors is the vape ban — e-cigarettes are illegal to bring into, possess or use anywhere in the country.
For international travel through the Maldives, Velana (MLE) on Hulhulé island is the airport that matters — nearly every visitor passes through it on the way to a resort transfer.
How Maldivian Airport Smoking Works
The Tobacco Control Act (Law 15/2010) bans smoking in enclosed public places, including airport terminals, and permits designated smoking areas:
- Smoking lounge airside at Velana, in international departures on the first floor near the duty-free shops
- Smoking is also at designated outdoor areas landside — by the main exit, the arrivals side and the domestic side
- The general terminal, check-in halls and gate areas are smoke-free
- Vapes and e-cigarettes are banned nationwide since late 2024 — import, sale, possession and use, tourists included; devices can be confiscated on arrival
- Since November 2025 the Maldives runs the world’s first generational tobacco ban — no tobacco sales to anyone born on or after 1 January 2007, tourists included
The Hub
Velana International Airport (MLE). The Maldives’ gateway on Hulhulé island, handling around 7 million passengers a year, almost all connecting onward to resorts by seaplane or speedboat — a new international Terminal 1 opened in phases from July 2025. Malé Velana’s smoking areas cover both sides of security: a smoking lounge on the first floor of international departures near duty-free, plus designated outdoor areas by the main exit and on the domestic/seaplane side for landside and transfer waits.
Tips for Smokers at Maldivian Airports
- Leave the vape at home — e-cigarettes are illegal throughout the Maldives and can be confiscated on arrival
- Velana keeps an airside smoking lounge near duty-free — you can smoke during a transfer wait without exiting security
- Facility locations are settling into the new Terminal 1; follow signage or ask the information desk for the nearest smoking area
- Smoke before your seaplane or speedboat leg — smoking is not permitted on transfer aircraft or boats
- Adult visitors may bring a personal allowance of cigarettes; buying tobacco locally is impossible for anyone born on or after 1 January 2007
Maldives Airports Compared: Indoor, Outdoor & After Security
| Airport | After security | Indoor room | Outdoor area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Velana International Airport (MLE) | Yes | Yes | Yes |