On 8th February 1943, a Royal Air Force Westland Walrus aircraft landed on the coral runway in Gan island becoming the first aircraft to land at the airstrip.
Gan was established as a military base for the Royal Navy first in 1941. The construction of the airstrip began in august 1941 and it was known as “Port T”.
In 1957 the Royal Air Force began construction of a permanent runway and Gan Airport was extensively used as a staging post by bombers, fighters, and transports on their way to Singapore and other destinations in East Asia throughout the 1960s.
Over the years other foreign military forces occasionally used the facilities in Gan. However, as the 1970s dawned, the United Kingdom withdrew the site.
RAF Gan was used rarely used from late 1971 and was closed. On 1st April 1976, the island was handed back to the Maldivian Government.