TMA expands fleet, plans for more aircrafts
Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) has brought in another aircraft, pushing its total fleet number to 45.
The additional aircraft, a De Havilland DHC-6 Series 300, arrived Tuesday afternoon at Velana International Airport (VIA) after completing its journey from Calgary city in Canada.
With the latest addition to its fleet, TMA, which is the largest seaplane operator in the world, now operates an all-amphibian fleet of one DHC-6-100, one DHC-6-200, 40 DHC-6-300s, and three DHC-6-400s on regular flights throughout the Maldivian archipelago.
In 2016, TMA operated over 120,000 flights, transferring close to a million passengers, including 80,000 residents.
TMA’s fleet expansion comes in-line with the growing tourist arrivals and increasing bed capacity with the new resorts opening in the Maldives. The airline says that there are plans to bring more aircraft during the course of the year to meet the demand and cater to the increasing tourist arrivals.
The carrier is controlled by US venture capital firm, Blackstone, which, in 2013 acquired controlling stakes in two Maldives-based seaplane operators – Maldivian Air Taxi and Trans Maldivian Airways – before merging the two under the TMA brand.