TMA says flights resumed but problem not fully resolved

The system issue that led to hundreds of resort-bound tourists being stranded in the airport on Saturday is still currently being worked on with some progress already made, TMA announced Sunday.

The world's largest seaplane operator, TMA, suffered a 'malware attack' on its check-in system, leaving hundreds of tourists stranded at Velana International Airport for several hours on Saturday when they arrived to celebrate the New Year. 

With the systems down TMA was forced to rely on a manual check-in process to send stranded tourists to resorts. But this turned out to be a lengthy process which ultimately led to TMA requesting partner resorts to find alternative transport for their guests.

TMA’s Deputy Manager for Corporate and Business Development, Aishath Ala Abdul Hannan told Atoll Times on Sunday that efforts were still ongoing to fix the issue with the system. 

“We are working on rectifying even now. It’s not fully resolved yet,” Ala said.

When asked about the current status of operations, Ala stated that the system had been fixed to some extent which has enabled the company to use the system for check-ins to an extent, while this process was also being carried out manually at present. However she was unable to give a timeframe on when this issue would be fully resolved.