Colombo airport not hit by attack: Lankan Ambassador

The situation at the Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport is normal, said the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Qatar, S B Atugoda. The envoy was speaking after a rebel attack on Sri Lanka’s main military airbase yesterday morning.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels targeted the air force base at Katunayake and the airport was closed for two hours as a precautionary measure. The attack had no effect on the passenger traffic at the civilian airport, the ambassador said.
After the brief closure, arrivals and departures at the airport resumed as usual, the ambassador said. SriLankan Airlines manager in Qatar, Lakshman Weerasooriya, said the airline’s flight from Doha to Colombo too operated as usual.
Tourist traffic to Sri Lanka will not be affected by “this dastardly act of the terrorists on a security installation, which is away from the civil passenger terminals of the airport”, the envoy said.
However, the Sri Lanka Tourist Board yesterday set up a hotline to assist tour companies, hotels, tourists and other passengers. The board can be contacted in Colombo on telephone nos 2437759 or 2437061, operational throughout the day, Atugoda said.
27/03/07 Gulf Times, Qatar

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Categories: Foreign Mar 2007, Safety Mar 2007