Sri Lanka closing airport at night

Colombo: Sri Lanka will close its only international airport at night from next week following a spate of nocturnal bombing raids by Tamil Tiger aircraft, a top aviation official told AFP.
The Bandaranaike International Airport, which shares a runway with an adjoining military base, will close between 10.30pm and 4.30am from May 10, acting director general of Civil Aviation Parakrama Dissanayake said. He said the advance notice was to give international airlines a week to reschedule their flights to the troubled island where government troops are locked in combat with Tamil Tiger rebels.
At least three international airlines suspended night flights after Tamil Tiger guerrillas flew across the airport's airspace to carry out bombings in the city and its suburbs in the past month.
The nighttime closure would be for three months initially, and any further extension would depend on the security situation, officials said.
With the airport shutting down three times in the past month, many incoming flights have been diverted to the nearby southern Indian city of Chennai.
The airport handles about 70 flights a day and the nighttime shut down would affect 40 per cent of them.
04/05/07 The Brunei Times, Brunei Darussalam

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Categories: Airports May 2007, Foreign May 2007, Safety May 2007