India-Maldives row: ‘Around 1,300 passengers fly to…’, says Blue Star Air Travel

A massive row was triggered after the Maldives deputy minister, along with other cabinet members and government officials, made disparaging and unsavory references to PM Modi’s Lakshadweep visit.

The Maldivian Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Mariyam Shiuna, in a post that has now been deleted, made a mocking and disrespectful reference to PM Modi.

Following this, the deputy ministers in the youth ministry Malsha Shareef, Mariyam Shiuna, and Abdulla Mahzoom Majid have been suspended over their posts. The Maldivian government also distanced itself from Shiuna’s remarks, saying her opinion does not reflect the government’s views.

Speaking about the ongoing India-Maldives row, Blue Star Air Travel Services Director Madhav Oza said, “If we look at the overall picture then India-Maldives connections have improved over the last few years…”

“There are eight direct flights from all over India to Maldives…Almost 1,200-1,300 passengers fly to Maldives each day…There is a possibility of 20-30% cancellations now…,” he told ANI.

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) has also come in support of India and ‘strongly condemned’ the derogatory remarks made by the ministers on PM Modi’s post on Lakshadweep.

“The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) strongly condemns the derogatory comments made by some Deputy Ministers on social media platforms, directed towards the Prime Minister of India, His Excellency Narendra Modi as well as the people of India,” the official statement read.

“India is one of our closest neighbors and allies. India has always been a first responder to various crises throughout our history and we are immensely grateful to the close relationship that the Government as well as the people of India have maintained with us,” it added.

It also stated that India has been a consistent and significant contributor to the Tourism Industry of Maldives which has greatly assisted its recovery efforts during COVID-19.

“Since then, India has continued to remain as one of the top markets for the Maldives. It is our sincere wish that the close relationship between our two nations endures for generations to come and as such, we refrain from actions or speech that may have any negative impact on our good relationship,” MATI said.