Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Daminda Rambukwella, says seven flights are scheduled to operate to the Middle East region today. 

Speaking exclusively to Newsfirst, Director General Rambukwella confirmed that today, SriLankan Airlines will be operating two flights to London in addition to its regular schedule. 

He added that Sri Lankan Flights to Frankfurt and Paris are also continuing as scheduled, further assuring that services to South Asia, the Far East, and Australia are operating as usual.

Director General Rambukwella further noted that, however, as airspace in several Middle Eastern countries remains closed in line with current NOTAMs, several flights departing from and arriving in Sri Lanka to certain Middle Eastern destinations have been temporarily suspended.

He highlighted that yesterday, the National Carrier, SriLankan Airlines, operated a special flight to Dubai. FitsAir also operated a service to Dubai. After the temporary reopening of airspace in the United Arab Emirates, Emirates operated a special flight to Sri Lanka. The particular aircraft arrived in Colombo, disembarked passengers, and returned to Dubai.

Director General Rambukwella added that SalamAir from Oman had also arrived in Sri Lanka early this morning and departed as scheduled. Oman’s airspace has remained open since Monday, with SalamAir operating six days a week.

Today, a total of seven flights are scheduled to operate to the Middle East. These include one flight to Dubai, one to Riyadh, and a FitsAir flight to Dubai, which will return with passengers to Sri Lanka. 

Additionally, Flydubai is scheduled to operate three flights from Dubai to Sri Lanka today, including one in the morning and two later in the day, with the final flight departing at night.

Overall, approximately seven flights to the Middle East are operating today. 

Meanwhile, he confirmed that flights to Europe, South Asia, and Far Eastern destinations continue as usual.

Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Daminda Rambukwella also attributed that from February 28 up to today, a total of 288 flights have been cancelled in total.