Heavy rain causes flight cancellations at VIA

The torrential rain and flooding affecting the Maldivian capital on Sunday has resulted in the cancellation of several domestic and international flights at the national airport, Velana International Airport (VIA).

VIA’s schedule shows that many of the cancelled flights were either international inbound or outbound flights.

The bad weather also caused cancellations or delays of domestic flights.

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL)’s Communications Director Shaman Shakir told Sun that some of the flights were delayed or redirected due to heavy rain and low visibility.

Shaman said the nonstop rain has also resulted in flooding at the airport, and that the emergency services is working on resolving the problem.

“Right now, we are working on normalizing our operations. The airport’s emergency services and all divisions are on alert due to the orange alert, and are monitoring the situation,” he said.

MACL asked travelers to take precautions and check the flight schedule beforehand.

“The weather is bad. There’s an orange alert in place. The airport is also on alert. We therefore sincerely ask that passengers check the flight schedule beforehand,” he said.

Torrential rain has caused extensive flooding across the Maldives, including the capital.