Maldivians stranded in Bangalore for 12 hours depart

More than 150 Maldivian citizens who were stranded in Bangalore airport for over 12 hours owing to delays from Maldivian Airline, has been able to fly back.

One of the locals who were scheduled to travel on board the Maldivian flight, returning to Male', said that the flight originally scheduled for 15:30 had not arrived until 21:30hrs on Thursday evening.

The individual further said that the passengers had not been informed of the delay beforehand.

They further said that over 150 Maldivian travelers had reached Bangalore airport around 10:00hrs on Thursday morning to return home, which had included a large number of children and elderly citizens. Some of the people stranded at the airport also required to fly medicine in cold storage as well.

The individual also noted that the airline had provided only one meal pack per individual, and informed the next meal would be provided in-flight.

"When we are paying for these flights, the (in-flight) meal is a must, is it not?" the individual wrote in a social media post.

Moreover, the local said that the flight agent was unable to provide a response regarding the flight's delay to the passengers as well.

In response, an official from Maldivian said that the flight scheduled from Addu to Male' experienced technical issues, which had in turn, disrupted the airline's flight schedule for the day.

"Passengers will be accommodated at a later date, even if the airline is not able compensate immediately. Since we are operating one flight [to India]," the official said.

The official further said that changes to flight schedules would be informed accordingly to the passengers, and meals would be arranged for them in the case of flight delays.

Amid the worsening weather conditions, technical issues and delays to flight schedules are expected.