Seven special flights operate in Sri Lanka as Middle East airspace reopens

Seven special flights are scheduled to operate in Sri Lanka today (March 10) as several Middle Eastern countries partially reopen their airspace despite ongoing regional tensions.

Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, Daminda Rambukwella, said aviation operations are gradually improving as some airspaces that were previously closed have now reopened to a certain extent.

He noted that countries such as Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have reopened significant portions of their airspace, even if temporarily. Compared to the past few days, a larger portion of airspace in these countries is now available for flights.

As a result, airlines have started increasing the number of flights to these destinations compared to recent days.

According to Rambukwella, SriLankan Airlines is operating two flights today, one to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and another to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.

FitsAir is also operating one flight to Dubai. Meanwhile, SalamAir has operated a reduced service to Sri Lanka, arriving with passengers and departing again.

Flydubai has also arrived from Dubai with passengers and departed again, while Etihad Airways is operating a flight as well.

In addition, Qatar Airways is scheduled to operate a flight today. Emirates had initially planned to operate two flights to Sri Lanka but is now expected to operate only one flight.

Rambukwella added that airlines are hopeful of gradually returning to normal flight operations in the near future.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, around eight flights have been operated so far.