I thought it was still suppose to be dark. The plane was flying West and into other times zones so it would have taken longer for the sun to come up versus going North to Peking.
Sun Information For March 8 2014 (Maldives)
The sun information shown here applies to Malé, Maldives on March 8, 2014. (Local time Indian/Maldives)
sunrise 06:14:42
http://www.vercalendario.info/en/sun/maldives-8-march-2014.html