Maldives national airline 'Maldivian' on Wednesday cancelled a scheduled flight to Fuvahmulah city after the assigned pilots reportedly failed to show up.
Reliable sources indicate that the airline had informed passengers of the cancellation after they had arrived at the airport. The airline had reportedly paid for the accommodation of some passengers in the capital Male after angry passengers complained over the short notice.
A passenger told Avas that he had checked out of the room in the reclaimed suburb Hulhumale and had nowhere else to stay.
"I cannot arrange a place to stay on such short notice. They [airline] must take full responsibility for this," the angry passenger bemoaned.
'Maldivian' was not immediately available for comment as the airline struggles to resolve disgruntled pilots who for weeks have complained of being overworked.
Avas has been able to confirm that several pilots on the Maldivian airline's payroll have been complaining of fatigue after the national airline extended the number of working hours per week from five to seven days.
The agrrieved pilots have singled out the aviation regulator for failing to investigate their claims.
'Maldivian' however refuted the claims saying that "only a handful of pilots" had voiced discontent over the extended work week but none have made their grievances official.
But repeated attempts by Avas to contact Civil Aviation Department have been futile as top officials from the department refused to respond to multiple phone calls and text messages.
Maldives government meanwhile had vowed to devise a system to manage pilot fatigue in the wake of mounting complaints from several national airline 'Maldivian' pilots.
The airline earlier this month had suspended a senior pilot over a leaked audio recording.
Avas Online has received confirmation that the unnamed senior pilot heard from the audio clip - who had presented the case of pilot fatigue issue initially - was ordered to stay home.
The argument sparked when the senior pilot had engaged in a heated exchange over negligence on an email he sent earlier about the issue. The senior official of Maldivian had warned the pilot of suspension if his action was repeated.
