Male, Maldives – The world’s largest sea plane operator, Trans Maldivian Airways (TMA) is struggling to repay a $305 million acquisition loan, reports the New York Times.
TMA, which has a fleet of 52 sea planes is currently struggling with grounded planes and almost no revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as domestic travel is limited to a minimum with few tourists and local movements.
US company Bain Capital, bought TMA for over $500 million in 2017, with two partners, which is the largest single business transaction to have been carried out in the Maldives. According to sources, Bain has been given an August-end deadline by lenders to settle the loan borrowed to acquire TMA.
Maldives opened up its borders to international travelers on July 15th, 2020, after a three month long ban on tourist arrivals into the country which was taken as a precautionary measure to stop the spread of Covid-19 in the country. The government of Maldives stated that with the opening of boarders, it hopes to see the tourism industry of the country to pick up momentum once again.
