diff --git a/src/ios/GoogleMaps/CordovaGoogleMaps.m b/src/ios/GoogleMaps/CordovaGoogleMaps.m
index ca1fa759d..9cd63cdb9 100644
--- a/src/ios/GoogleMaps/CordovaGoogleMaps.m
+++ b/src/ios/GoogleMaps/CordovaGoogleMaps.m
@@ -12,10 +12,11 @@ @implementation CordovaGoogleMaps
 
 - (void)pluginInitialize
 {
-
-  self.webView.backgroundColor = [UIColor clearColor];
-  self.webView.opaque = NO;
-  [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self selector:@selector(pageDidLoad) name:CDVPageDidLoadNotification object:nil];
+  [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
+                                           selector:@selector(pageDidLoad)
+                                               name:CDVPageDidLoadNotification
+                                             object:nil];
+  
   dispatch_async(dispatch_get_global_queue(DISPATCH_QUEUE_PRIORITY_DEFAULT, 0), ^{
     self.executeQueue =  [NSOperationQueue new];
     self.executeQueue.maxConcurrentOperationCount = 10;
@@ -53,7 +54,8 @@ - (void)pluginInitialize
 
     [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self
                                              selector:@selector(didRotate:)
-                                                 name:UIDeviceOrientationDidChangeNotification object:nil];
+                                                 name:UIDeviceOrientationDidChangeNotification
+                                               object:nil];
 
     [[UIDevice currentDevice] beginGeneratingDeviceOrientationNotifications];
 
@@ -68,22 +70,34 @@ - (void)pluginInitialize
   // Plugin initialization
   //-------------------------------
   self.viewPlugins = [[NSMutableDictionary alloc] init];
-
+  
+  // Initialize the plugin layer
+  // This removes the webView from the view hierarchy and adds it to the plugin layer
   self.pluginLayer = [[MyPluginLayer alloc] initWithWebView:self.webView];
-  self.pluginLayer.backgroundColor = [UIColor whiteColor];
+  self.pluginLayer.backgroundColor = [UIColor clearColor]; // Set to clear to avoid white screen
   self.pluginLayer.autoresizingMask = UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleWidth | UIViewAutoresizingFlexibleHeight;
-
-
-  NSArray *subViews = self.viewController.view.subviews;
-  //NSLog(@"--->subViews count=%lu", subViews.count);
-  UIView *view;
-  for (int i = 0; i < [subViews count]; i++) {
-    view = [subViews objectAtIndex:i];
-    //NSLog(@"--->remove i=%d class=%@", i, view.class);
-    [view removeFromSuperview];
-    [self.pluginLayer addSubview: view];
-  }
+  self.pluginLayer.userInteractionEnabled = NO; // Ensure the plugin layer does not intercept touch events
+  
+  // Add the plugin layer to the back, so it is not disturbing the splash screen
+  // When the plugin layer is in the back, the plugin layer and the containing webView is not clickable
   [self.viewController.view addSubview:self.pluginLayer];
+  [self.viewController.view sendSubviewToBack:self.pluginLayer];
+  
+  // Move the plugin layer, after the splash screen is dismissed, to the front
+  // so the plugin layer and the webView is clickable
+  // Read the SplashScreenDelay value from config.xml
+  NSString *splashScreenDelayString = [((CDVViewController *)self.viewController).settings objectForKey:@"splashscreendelay"];
+  // If no SplashScreenDelay ist set, set no delay. Cordova states, that the default value for
+  // iOS is 3000ms, but it seems, when testing it, that the splash screen is hidden, right after the initialization is complete
+  double splashScreenDelay = splashScreenDelayString ? [splashScreenDelayString doubleValue] : 0;
+  // Add some extra delay, to let the splash screen fade out, otherwise it will be hidden, without the animation
+  // This can have the side effect, that the app is not clickable for a short period of time, after the splash screen is dismissed
+  splashScreenDelay += 2000;
+  
+  // Move the plugin layer to the front
+  dispatch_after(dispatch_time(DISPATCH_TIME_NOW, (int64_t)(splashScreenDelay * NSEC_PER_MSEC)), dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
+    [self.viewController.view bringSubviewToFront:self.pluginLayer];
+  });
 }
 - (void) didRotate:(id)sender
 {