Sri Lanka on 01st June reopened its international airport for passengers in the midst of the current COVID-19 lockdown with the first flight with 53 passengers landing from Qatar.

However, those with a travel record to India and Vietnam over the last 14 days would not be allowed to disembark at the Colombo airport, said a senior Civil Aviation official, P A Jayakantha.

Jayakantha said that the airport was re-opened at midnight for flights which are limited to 75 passengers.

The first flight, a Qatar Airways aircraft with 53 passengers, touched down at the Katunayake International Airport at 2 AM (local time) from Doha, Daily Mirror newspaper quoted an airport official as saying.

The airport would still remain shut for Indian and Vietnamese passengers, the official said.

The ban also applies to Sri Lankans and other travellers who have stayed in India and Vietnam for the past 14 days or who have used their airports for transit.

“We have returned to the status before May 21 when the flight ban was announced,” Jayakantha said.