Maldivian is the airline division of Island Aviation Services and is based in Malé, in the Maldives. It is the flag carrier airline of the Maldives. It operates international flights in addition to inter-island services. Its main base is Velana International Airport.

History

On 23 April 2009, the Government under a Presidential decree incorporated Island Aviation Services Limited as a limited liability company, one hundred percent owned by the Government of Maldives. The airline began operations with three aircraft; a Bombardier Dash 8 Q200; and a Dornier 228, and served only domestic airports within the Maldives. The airline commenced its international flights on 26 January 2008 with scheduled flights to Thiruvananthapuram, India. On 25 August 2008, the airline division of Island Aviation Services was re-branded as Maldivian.[2]

Flight Q27100, a Viking Air De Havilland DHC-6-200 aircraft with registration marks 8Q-IAG, suffered an accident during three failed take-off attempts at Nature’s Paradise Island at 0926 hours on 16 November 2017. The aircraft had 12 passengers and three crew members destined to Velana International Airport. The aircraft experienced substantial damage.