Sri Lanka’s national carrier, SriLankan Airlines informed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Sri Lanka, that it would be operating repatriation flights for Sri Lankan nationals from London - UK and Melbourne - Australia. The London flights have already been completed.
Accordingly, a UL flight will be operated from Melbourne, with a departure time of 0815 hrs on May 8. This flight (UL 605) will arrive at the BIA at 1430 hrs.
The special repatriation flights are operated under special COVID-19 airline operational procedures that include the use of Personal Protective Equipment for staff, deep cleaning, fogging and de-misting procedures to disinfect aircraft, etc. At a time, when the global airline industry is at a shutdown, SriLankan Airlines rose to the occasion where the staff of the airline including operating pilots, cabin crew, ground handling staff, planners, and many others behind the scenes were risking the safety of their lives and families to operate a humanitarian flight that did not have a commercial objective.
SriLankan Airlines said it has been compelled to extend the temporary suspension of its normal scheduled passenger flights till 15th May 2020 due to the global lockdowns and travel restrictions. “Facilitating essential supplies of medical resources, equipment as well as perishable cargo in support of governments and industries during this tumultuous period – bringing in vital revenue for the airline and foreign exchange into the country will continue,” the airline said.
SriLankan Airlines added that they will operate special passenger flights as and when required, in order to continue to reach out to fellow Sri Lankans in need. The airline launched dedicated cargo flights yesterday, using its Airbus passenger aircraft.
The airline does not have any dedicated freighter aircraft. For further information and clarifications, travellers can contact their travel agents, their nearest SriLankan Airlines Office or the Airlines’ Global Contact Center on 011 777 1979.