Nearly 100 Bulgarian tourists remain stranded in the Maldives, as their flights via Dubai, Doha or Sharjah have been canceled.
This was announced for TravelNews by Silvia Nedelcheva and Irina Nedkova, who reported the problem and are on the spot. Both stressed that no one from the Foreign Ministry and the Embassy in India, which is responsible for the region, is responding to their emails. “We registered on the Foreign Ministry website, but not all of us received confirmation”, said Silvia Nedelcheva.
The Bulgarians expect the Foreign Ministry to react and send a plane to bring them home. For now, the department plans for Bulgarian airlines to transport the stranded domestic tourists to the Middle East. The “Velana” International Airport in Male is working, but direct flights to Europe are almost zero. The affected airlines are also telling tourists that they have to wait for the airspace in the Middle East to open before they can start operating. These include Fly Dubai and Emirates via Dubai, Qatar Airways via Doha, Air Arabia via Sharjah (UAE) and Etihad via Abu Dhabi.
“Nobody is helping us. We have no idea what we are going to do and when we will have enough money”, commented Silvia Nedelcheva. Irina Nedkova explained that about 20 people are scattered around the airport, while others are in hotels in the region. “The airlines refuse to accommodate us at their own expense. They only give us food vouchers. "Employees at the Male airport are handing out water and blankets," Nedkova said.
The situation at the Male airport remains chaotic and the airport is full of tourists who cannot get home. In total, over 2,000 foreigners are stranded on site, according to airport data. The blocked traffic in the Middle East has practically interrupted the main air connection between South Asia and Europe.
Source: travelnews.bg