After 79 years of existence, history was made when Philippine Airlines (PAL) landed for the first time at the Velana International Airport in Male, Maldives. PAL went to the Maldives on a repatriation mission to bring home stranded Filipinos.
The mission was in collaboration between the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Consulate in the Republic of Maldives. Due to this, 336 Filipinos were brought back home.
PAL’s Airbus A330-343 aircraft (with registry RP-C8760) was used for the repatriation flight. It has 368 seating capacity.
Flight PR-8708 departed for Male at 5:21 am local time from Manila and arrived at 8:59 am local time. The sweeper flight, PR-8709, departed at 11:31 am local time and arrived in the Philippines Saturday night.
PAL’s flight received a warm welcome in the Maldives.
Anything to add to this story? Share your thoughts with us.
Do you have a story for the WhenInManila.com Team? Email us at story.wheninmanila@gmail.com or send us a direct message at WhenInManila.com Facebook Page. Interact with the team and join the WhenInManila.com Community at WIM Squad!
