Emirates and Sri Lankan Airlines flights to Colombo International Airport resumed yesterday after the closure of the airport for two hours following an air raid by Tamil militants.
"Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport, was briefly closed for operations following a terrorist attack on an adjoining air force base.
No injuries to Emirates' passengers or staff have been reported," an official Emirates spokesperson told Emirates Today. Emirates flight EK 558 was re-routed to operate Dubai-Male-Dubai.
"The Singapore-ColomboDubai flight, EK 349, was immediately diverted to Thiruvananthapuram and onward to Dubai. The flight, with 129 passengers, was originally bound for Dubai, and arrived at the destination earlier than scheduled," the spokesperson added.
"Passengers who were scheduled to disembark at Colombo have been accommodated on EK 552, departing Dubai for Colombo at 10am on Monday morning.
"Emirates call centre has called affected passengers to update them of the situation, and is re-booking them on the earliest available flight. The airport is now declared open for normal operations, and Emirates has resumed its flights with immediate effect.
"For Emirates, the safety of its passengers and staff is of paramount importance," the spokesperson added.
Emirates owns a 40 per cent stake in Sri Lankan Airlines. Apart from the regular Sri Lankan expatriate passengers, many Indians fly to Colombo as a cheap transition point to South India.
Sri Lankan Airlines operates 10 flights per week to Colombo.
An official source in the airline's Dubai office said: "We haven't cancelled any flights and all our flights are going as per schedule.
"It is the peak time for travel and our passengers are not scared to travel to Colombo." Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airlines yesterday announced the immediate suspension of its flights to Sri Lanka following the rebel air raid on a base next to the country's only international airport.
"Safety is a top priority at Cathay Pacific and a careful assessment of the situation will be made before services are resumed," the airline said in a statement.
Cathay normally operates daily flights to Colombo from Hong Kong. The airline said 119 passengers who were stranded in Sri Lanka when their flight was cancelled yesterday were to be flown home today in a special aircraft.
Renton de Alwis, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board in Colombo, said the airport was closed for less than two hours as a result of the incident at the air force base earlier yesterday morning.
By VM Sathish
© Emirates Today 2007
