Former Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera questioned the Sri Lankan Authority for putting the lives of crew members of Sri Lankan airline at risk by ordering them to bring Chinese nationals from London to Shanghai.
"UL 504 specially chartered plane taking Chinese passengers from London to Shanghai lands at BIA and transist for two hours. UL 866 departed for Sh’hai at 14.55h. Were all the passengers tested/quarantined before leaving London?," the Minister tweeted two days ago.
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| Inside the flight - Photo Courtesy: @MangalaLK |
“Pictures from UL 504 from London taking passengers to Shanghai via Colombo: the Sri Lankan crew seen posing with the Chinese flag! The question is why China did not choose one of their own airlines to carry their citizens home. They have over a dozen international carriers,” the Former Minister tweeted with an update of the event today, 15 April.
Meanwhile, responding to the former Minister, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo says that, “Hi Hon. There is only one direct flight weekly that is operated by China Eastern Airlines on Friday. Tens of thousands of Overseas Chinese students in UK & US, need more aircraft. We appreciate SL Airlines' help on a commercial basis. Transfer between aircrafts brings more risk.”
In his reply to the Embassy, the former Minister says, “Hi,Chinese Embassy, Thank you for your prompt response despite not being ‘Hon’ any longer. Most Sri Lankans want to know why China chartered ‘Sri Lankan’ via Colombo when it has over a dozen airlines and other International airlines capable of flying directly from London?”
“Did not your passengers transfer from UL504 to UL 866 after transiting in Colombo for 2hours? If your Government hired on a ‘commercial basis’ one of your own Long haul flights directly to Shanghai from London there would have been no ‘transfer risks’,” the Minister added.
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| Sri Lankan crew members holding the Chinese flag while keeping the Sri Lankan National flag as a backdrop - Photo Courtesy: @MangalaLK |
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