In addition to serving as an international and domestic airport, Hulhulé is also home to the seaplane terminal operated by 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.

Before the airport was built, it was the home of the aboriginal Giraavaru people and other settlers who resided for convenience and agricultural purposes.

In 1968, they were forced to abandon their ancestral home on Giraavaru island under an Islamic regulation that did not recognise communities with fewer than 40 adult males who could form a quorum at the Friday prayers.

When the airport was extended, they were shifted across to Malé and housed in a few blocks in newly reclaimed areas in the Maafannu district.