Maldivian airline has denied reports that one of its flights was denied permission to land at Hanimadhoo International Airport by Indian military personnel.

Channel 13 reported that Indian military officers present in HDh. Hanimadhoo had denied permission for the Maldivian flight to land on June 29. The report claims that the flight had fly over the island for over 30 minutes waiting for approval.

It said that the permission was delayed with claims that the officers were conducting work on the Indian Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft, and that the flight was only allowed to land after “begging”.

However, Maldivian denied this and said that all its flights were on schedule on the day mentioned in the Channel 13 report.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) recently increased safety measures in the Indian High Commission in Male’ as well as the Chinese Embassy, over threats.

The foreign ministry in its statement announcing this on Friday said that the diplomatic missions had requested this following increased hostility and threats due to false reporting.

The ministry added that some local media outlets have been publicizing lies regarding foreign diplomats, envoys and officials of missions, stressing that this will leave a strain the long-standing relations with the respective nations.

It added that this could also have an adverse effect on the country’s reputation in the international community, resulting in losses in the business and tourism industry.