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Five SriLankan flights cancelled after Pakistan closes airspace
View(s):SriLankan Airlines is assessing the financial losses suffered due to the cancellation of five flights with 1,453 passengers, following Pakistan’s decision to close its airspace for civilian flights in the wake of hostilities with neighbouring India.
A SriLankan Airlines spokesman said operations to that country remained suspended even yesterday, with 13 passengers stranded at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA). Nine of them have been given hotel accommodation.
No SriLankan Airlines flights were rerouted to avoid Pakistani airspace, he said. Some of the stranded passengers were rebooked in other flights to go to their destinations.
Meanwhile, the Government, this week, issued a statement, condemning the February 14 incident at Pulwama in Kashmir as a ‘brutal terrorist attack” and calling on both India and Pakistan to act in a manner that would ensure peace in the region.
The attack by a suicide bomber killed 41 Central Reserve Police Force personnel. Expressing deep concern over the recent developments, the statement said, “As a country that has suffered from the scourge of terrorism for nearly three decades, Sri Lanka has unequivocally condemned this terrorist attack in Pulwama and stands firmly by the fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
“Sri Lanka strongly supports peace and stability in the South Asia region and all endeavours towards the defusion of tensions, including the resolution of bilateral problems through dialogue and building confidence. In this context, Sri Lanka requests India and Pakistan to act in a manner that ensures the security, peace and stability of the entire region.”
Taranjit Singh, India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, met President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa to brief them about the Pulwama terrorist attack and subsequent developments.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke to Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana over the phone and conveyed Pakistan’s narrative on the February 14th attack and the Indian air raid on February 26, a Pakistani High Commission spokesperson said.