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Travel havoc: Cyclone triggers widespread flight disruptions
View(s):Cyclone Ditwah caused major travel disruptions on Friday and yesterday, with Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) (Pvt) Ltd (AASL) reporting flight cancellations, delays and diversions.
The turmoil continued into yesterday, with a total of 17 SriLankan Airlines departures cancelled. The company expressed hope that the situation would regain some semblance of normality by tonight.
Operations at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) were severely affected by staff shortages as several employees could not report to work due to flooding and transport difficulties. All airport operations, including baggage clearance, were hit.
A SriLankan Airlines spokesman said the company had requested assistance from the Sri Lanka Army to extract their staff—many of whom were specially qualified and licensed to carry out specific tasks in airport operations—from disaster-struck areas in order that they could report to work.
The airline’s ground-handling work was being carried out with minimum staff numbers, even under heavy rains. “The staff transportation system is completely hampered,” he said, adding that they had spent a sleepless night trying to overcome these obstacles.
Separately, SriLankan Airlines made a special announcement to pilots and cabin crew, requesting them to contact the Airline Crew Control Centre immediately for further instructions.
“Due to disruptions to communications systems arising from the prevailing situation in the country, the airline is currently unable to reach some crew members through the usual channels,” an official statement said. It said the prompt response of cabin crew and pilots is greatly appreciated, “as it is essential for maintaining continuity of services and ensuring operational readiness”.
Among the flights cancelled on Friday were SriLankan departures to Bangkok, Dhaka and Tiruchchirappalli, Air India flights to Mumbai and Delhi and an Emirates flight to Abu Dhabi. Yesterday’s cancelled SriLankan departures were flights to Dhaka, Male, Singapore, Mumbai, Gan Island, Madurai, New Delhi, Guangzhou, Chennai, Kuwait, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Riyadh, Doha, Bangkok, Bangalore and Cochin.
There are also likely to be disruptions to SriLankan flights today as the airline struggles to clear a backlog. Meanwhile, the flights operated by other airlines were also hit by delays.
AASL said that since around 11pm on Thursday, a total of 15 inbound aircraft were diverted to alternative international airports, including Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA), Trivandrum and Cochin, due to unsafe landing conditions at BIA. By then, the airport operator had also registered 16 flight delays at BIA.
It said MRIA was being kept in a state of high alert and is fully prepared to accommodate further diversions, having handled up to six diverted flights. One scheduled flight to Jaffna International Airport had also been cancelled.
“We strongly urge all individuals scheduled to travel to BIA today or tomorrow to contact their respective airlines immediately for the most current and specific flight status information before travelling to the airport,” the statement advised.
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