The approach to Hulhule offers views of the archipelago in the lap of the Indian Ocean. The airport first started out as a small strip of land on the then inhabited island of Hulhulé. Hulhulé Airport was opened on 19 October 1960. The first runway built on Hulhulé Island was made of slotted steel sheets.
The airport is served internationally by a variety of holiday charter flights (mostly from Europe) and several scheduled carriers including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, British Airways, Turkish Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Sri Lankan Airlines. In addition to serving as an international and domestic airport, Hulhule is also home to the seaplane terminal operated by both Maldivian Air Taxi and Trans Maldivian Airways. The island also serves as a hub for travellers wishing to connect to a domestic flight to the further outlying atolls, such as Laamu.