Cathay Pacific to resume operations here

Cathay Pacific Airways., the only airline which suspended operations immediately after the LTTE attack on the Air Force Base at Katunayake will resume daily flights to and from Colombo, from Sunday, April 22.

Flight CX703, which departs from Hong Kong on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will fly via Bangkok while flight CX711 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday stops in Singapore before continuing to Colombo, Cathay Pacific said.

Cathay Pacific said that it took the difficult decision to suspend its flight operations to and from Colombo following the two-hour closure of the airport on March 26. The airline acted out of concern for the safety of its passengers and crew, the airline said.

Cathay Pacific Chief Operating Officer Tony Tyler said: "Safety is always our top priority. Cathay Pacific remains committed to Sri Lanka and now that enhanced security measures are being put in place we are happy to resume flights to the country."

The air attack on the Air Force Base adjoining the international airport raised security concerns on civil aircraft coming in but the airport was back to normal within a few hours after the attack.