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Repatriation and charter flights: SriLankan offloads ticketing agents
SriLankan Airlines has stopped the issuance of tickets for charter flights–including for repatriation–through agents as it was found they were charging exorbitant rates.
The decision was announced at the Presidential Task Force meeting this week by Gen Shavendra Silva, head of the National Operation Centre to fight COVID-19. There will be no more agent-booked flight reservations as complaints had been received that the markups were steep.
SriLankan will now return to handling ticketing based on the repatriation approval lists issued by foreign missions abroad. The national carrier has been running mostly charter flights approved by a special division in the President’s Office.
The package includes paid PCR, transport and hotel quarantine. The domestic logistics were coordinated by handpicked companies including Avant Garde Maritime Services (AGMS) which was also arranging passage from other parts of the world.
The number of flights ferrying Sri Lankans from abroad is to be restricted to one per day on the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. At present, 500 PCR tests can be done daily at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and 300 at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA). A recent spike in imported COVID-19 cases even led to a week-long suspension of repatriations earlier this month.
There is also concern that people who quarantine at hotels do not receive sterile transport to return to their homes, using public transport and private vehicles before an additional 14-day self-isolation. They also stop at facilities such as restaurants along the way. Only persons who undergo quarantine in Government-run centres are provided transport home.
The Kandakadu cluster is reported to be still active, with positive cases continuing to emerge from it. However, doctors and other health authorities have stopped going public with their concerns about a possible outbreak, the Task Force was told.
This is particularly of concern as Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) are also now slack in visiting homes that have self-isolating persons. Furthermore, the 14-day home quarantine is not legally enforceable as it has not been gazetted.
Diplomats self-isolating in condominiums were also found to be using common facilities. This has led to various condominium management committees complaining to the Foreign Ministry, the Task Force was told.