COLOMBO – Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has informed Russian authorities that the detention of the Aeroflot aircraft is not an issue between two countries but a private legal matter.
Local media reported that a spokesman from the Prime Minister’s office had said that Wickremesinghe had discussed the issue with the Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and advised him on what should be done.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the commercial High Court of the Western Province had issued an Enjoining Order on the Aeroflot flight, restraining it from taking off from Bandaranaike International Airport. “The case relates to a commercial dispute between the Plaintiff, Celestial Aviation Trading 10 Limited an Irish Company against the first Defendant the Public Joint Stock Company ‘Aeroflot ‘ and the second Defendant, N. C Abeywardene/Acting Head of Air Navigation/Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka (AASL), Katunayake,” it ssaid, adding that the matter was still pending in courts and is consulted through normal diplomatic channels.
A court hearing to lift the seizure of the aircraft is scheduled for Wednesday (8), according to a statement released by Sri Lanka’s Airport and Aviation Services.
Earlier, on Saturday, Russia’s Aeroflot suspended its commercial flights to Colombo after Sri Lankan authorities detained its Airbus A330 jet.
“Aeroflot is suspending commercial flights to Colombo (Sri Lanka) for the immediate period due to an unreliable situation in terms of the airline’s unobstructed flights to Sri Lanka. The sales of tickets for flights to Colombo have been temporarily shut down,” the statement noted.
Meanwhile, on Friday (3), Sri Lanka’s Airport and Aviation Services issued a statement noting that the Aeroflot flight to Moscow was restrained due to the absence of a permit from Sri Lanka’s aviation authorities.
Aeroflot meanwhile said passengers located in Colombo with return tickets for June 2, 4, and 5 will be brought to Russia from Sri Lanka on June 4 and 5. Repatriation planes will fly to Colombo without passengers, it said, vowing that passengers with tickets to Moscow for later dates would also be brought home as scheduled.
-ANI