The airline passengers were still feeling the aftermath of a massive sandstorm that hit Bahrain and other GCC countries on Wednesday.

A number of Gulf Air flights to and from Bahrain were affected, as the national carrier tried to normalise its operations yesterday.

'In light of ongoing schedule disruptions impacting Gulf Air flights, the airline advises all passengers transiting through Bahrain to check with their local sales office and/or airport office with regards to the status of their flight and onwards connections in advance,' it said yesterday.

'We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our passengers as we endeavour to restore all flight schedules.'

People in Bahrain and neighbouring countries took to social media yesterday to voice their frustration over delayed and cancelled flights.

Some said they waited six hours for a flight, while others claimed they were in an airport in a Gulf country overnight.

Video footage also emerged online of passengers violently shouting at Gulf Air staff in a neighbouring country, which required intervention from airport security.

Meanwhile, officials from the Pakistan Embassy met more than 300 of their nationals at Bahrain International Airport yesterday.

'We met over 300 Pakistani passengers who were stuck in the airport,' community welfare attaché Maqsood Shah told the GDN.

'We also met Gulf Air officials who immediately provided the passengers with water and food, however their explanation that hotels were overbooked as a reason for not providing accommodation for passengers was unacceptable.

'We were told that arrangements were being made to fly them at the earliest.'

The GDN reported on Wednesday night's violent sandstorm that hit Bahrain, which drastically reduced visibility and caused difficulties for both motorists and seagoers.

Our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej adds that Gulf Air cancelled flights from Moscow, Mumbai, Dammam, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. It reported that other airlines also cancelled flights to Bahrain.-TradeArabia News Service