Repatriation flights resume
Two flights arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, yesterday (August 8), said Airport and Aviation Services Limited (AASL) Vice Chairman, Rajeewasiri Sooriyaarachchi.
They were an Emirates flight from the United Arab Emirates with more than 300 passengers and a SriLankan Airlines flight from China with 108 military officials and 14 civilians.
There was a 25-day suspension of both repatriation and cargo flights in view of the Kandakadu cluster cropping up and in the runup to the elections.
He said that repatriation flights, a majority from SriLankan Airlines, which were cancelled will be rescheduled now, with clearance from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). A limited number of departures and transits are taking place from the BIA.
Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA)
The MRIA, the only other airport other than the BIA to receive flights, has been opened partially, said its Chief Airport Manager Upul Kalansuriya, explaining that in the early stages of COVID-19, the MRIA was closed on March 18 for three weeks.
The repatriation flights were also suspended for a few days due to the elections recently, but two charter flights arrived yesterday – both were SriLankan Airlines flights with 178 passengers from the Maldives and 165 passengers from Visakhapatnam, India, respectively.
Earlier, the flights which landed at the MRIA were passenger, charter and cargo flights and some which came in for re-fuelling. Regular flights which went through were those of the Ukranian cargo airline, Antonov Airlines.
He said that in June and July, there were around 50 flights comprising charters and private jets which brought around 2,300 passengers, mostly seafarers and returnees. There were around 10-15 returnee flights from the Maldives, India and Dubai.
The Sunday Times learns that as soon as a flight lands, there is a disinfectant protocol for the passengers and their baggage. Thereafter, samples for RT- PCR testing are collected from the passengers by private hospital ( Durdans, Asiri, Nawaloka and Lanka) personnel after which the samples are transported to their laboratories in Colombo.
“While the passengers are sent into quarantine at designated hotels, the results of the tests are sent to the flight operators. More than 2,000 tests have been done but no one has tested positive so far. The passengers are informed in advance that they would have to pay Rs. 6,000-7,000 each for the test,” added Mr. Kalansuriya.