Editing Maldives (section)

===Transportation===
{{main|Transport in the Maldives|List of airports in the Maldives}}

[[File:Velana International Airport.png|thumb|Velana International Airport]]

[[File:Seaplane Terminal.png|thumb|Seaplane Terminal]]

[[Velana International Airport]] is the principal gateway to the Maldives; it is adjacent to the capital city Malé and is connected by a bridge. International travel is available on government-owned [[Island Aviation Services]] (branded as Maldivian), which operates [[DHC-6 Twin Otter]] seaplanes and to nearly all Maldivian domestic airports with several [[Bombardier Dash 8]] aircraft, and one [[Airbus A320]] with international service to India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Thailand.

In the Maldives, there are three main ways to travel between islands: by domestic flight, by [[seaplane]], or by boat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Maldives |url=http://www.elitedivingagency.com/maldives/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218100252/http://www.elitedivingagency.com/maldives/ |archive-date=18 December 2013 |website=Elite Diving Agency}}</ref> For several years two seaplane companies were operating: TMA ([[Trans Maldivian Airways]]) and [[Maldivian Air Taxi]], but these merged in 2013 under the name TMA. The seaplane fleet is entirely made up of DHC-6 Twin Otters. There is also another airline, [[Flyme (Villa Air)|Villa Air]], which operates using [[ATR (aircraft manufacturer)|ATR]] planes to domestic airports, principally [[Villa International Airport Maamigili|Villa-Maamigili]], [[Dharavandhoo Airport|Dharavandhoo]] and some others. [[Manta Air]] began its first scheduled seaplane service in 2019. Its seaplane fleet is made up of DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. In addition to the seaplane service, [[Manta Air]] utilises [[ATR (aircraft manufacturer)|ATR 72–600]] aircraft to operate domestic flights to [[Dhaalu Airport]], [[Dharavandhoo Airport]] and [[Kooddoo Airport]] from the main [[Velana International Airport]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 November 2019 |title=Manta Air begins its first scheduled seaplane service |url=https://corporatemaldives.com/manta-air-begins-its-first-scheduled-seaplane-service/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164448/https://corporatemaldives.com/manta-air-begins-its-first-scheduled-seaplane-service/ |archive-date=14 January 2021 |access-date=14 December 2019 |website=Corporate Maldives}}</ref> Depending on the distance of the destination island from the airport, resorts organise [[speedboat]] transfers or [[seaplane]] flights directly to the resort island jetty for their guests. Several daily flights operate from [[Velana International Airport]] to the 18 domestic and international airports in the country. Scheduled ferries also operate from Malé to many of the atolls. The traditional Maldivian boat is called a [[Dhoni (fishing vessel)|dhoni]], one of the oldest known sea vessels in the Maldives.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Green |first1=Richard |title=The Commonwealth Yearbook 2005 |date=2005 |publisher=Nexus Strategic Partnerships |isbn=9780954962906 |page=209 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-NITbEo2-UC&dq=The+traditional+Maldivian+boat+is+called+a+dhoni.&pg=PA209}}</ref> Speedboats and seaplanes tend to be more expensive, while travel by dhoni, although slower, is relatively cheaper and convenient.