Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Maldives, UL109 was cancelled on Sunday night due to delays at Bandaranaike International Airport, and not because authorities had suspended all flights in.

While the captain of the flight had informed passengers - after keeping them onboard for over an hour - that “Maldives authorities has suspended all flights”, RaajjeMV can now confirm that this was a “misunderstanding”.

Highrise’s founder Ismail Hameed first tweeted on the issue, saying that the captain of Sri Lankan Airline Flight UL109 he was traveling in, had announced that “Maldives Airports has suspended all flights”. The captain is to have said that he “has no control as the Maldivian authorities has not allowed them to fly in” as well.

Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) said that that they have been closing off the runway from 12 am to 6 am every night since March 2016, and that this will be done till September 2018. Noting that this is for maintenance work, an official said that all airlines have been informed of the matter.

Hameed later tweeted that the captain had “announced it wrong” and that they were not allowed to fly due to “delay in departure”.

Noting that the announcement was wrong, Hameed emphasized that it “clearly” gave the impression that the flight was being barred from flying to Maldives “even with request”.