How it began... The Maldivians undertook voluntary work in order to build their own airport and in 1966 Male saw the first commercial landing. The travelers who visited in the following years were limited to exploring the pristine islands reachable only by boat close to Male. The natural and untouched beauty of the islands started to appeal an increasing number of inquisitive travelers. Trans Maldivian Airways... The beginnings of aviation in Maldives are to be undoubtedly attributed to Trans Maldivian Airways. TMA started in 1989 as a company operating a helicopter fleet under the name Hummingbird Island Helicopters. Eight years later the name was changed to Hummingbird Island Airways, as the first seaplane was added to the fleet. The transition to a seaplane-only fleet was completed in 1999. A year later the name Trans Maldivian Airways came to be. Maldivian Air Taxi... Even after 20 years since the opening of first tourist resort in 1972, the industry was challenged with infrastructure problems relating to the established helicopter air service. Many resorts were only reachable by boat, and the need for faster and convenient travel was highlighted. Traveling to Kuredu in 1991, Lars Erik Nielsen recalls ‘The passengers were so sick on the voyage, I had to find a better way to travel!’ With his love of seaplanes and the much needed Scandinavian entrepreneurship, he started Maldivian Air Taxi in 1993. The New Trans Maldivian Airways... In February 2013, MAT and Ex- TMA partnered with Blackstone, a leading global investment and advisory firms, under the name of Trans Maldivian Airways. In December 2017, the company was acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity, a global private equity firm headquartered out of the US, in association with Tempus Group, a Chinese tourism-focused conglomerate, from the previous shareholders led by Blackstone. From being the oldest air services provider in the Maldives, TMA has grown to become the largest seaplane operator in the world.