Saudi Arabia has temporarily suspended travel of citizens and residents and halted flights with several states, including Sri Lanka due to coronavirus fears.

Source: Colombo Gazette

Starting Friday, March 13, 2020, Kuwait International Airport will close for passenger service indefinitely, meaning commercial flights to & from the airport are canceled.
Apparently there will be some exceptions only for Kuwaiti nationals looking to go home (may be some charter flights operated as a result)

4R-ALJ gets ready to leave the fleet. Here seen in the picture is 4R-ALJ being stripped off UL logo and colors.

Fitsair RML-JAF-MAA Flight Schedule available.

Jaffna ✈ Chennai
Monday, Wednesday & Saturday
Ratmalana (RML) 0745 Jaffna (JAF) 0845
Jaffna (JAF) 1015 Chennai (MAA) 1130
Chennai (MAA) 1250 Jaffna (JAF) 1305
Jaffna (JAF) 1405 Ratmalana (RML) 1505

Thanks for the photo ! i remember flying on 4R-ALJ in 2013. What's going to happen to 4R-ALJ after leaving Sri Lanka? write off or going to another airline?

Supposed to be a write off I think. Let's see. Will confirm.

Hello everyone, this is my first post in the forum. Heard that Indigo is going to commence their A320 s C-Checks again with Sri Lankan Engineering. is that correct?

Well Covid-19 has effected air travel largely.

But 4R-ALJ leaving the fleet was much anticipated. I think this will be a complete retirement as it has served for 18 years and since global aviation being in a downward trend for the past few months, I don't think anyone is desperate enough to get such an old airplane or any other plane into there fleet for that matter right now.

Also the A330-200 is pretty much an obsolete airplane now with current trends being the A330-300 and the 900NEO. So it is farewell then I guess for this old bird which has served us well despite a late entry.

Good point. Now that the 330-300 is also no more in production, the market moves forward to the 330neo, but that too Airbus plans on cutting down production due to less orders. 4R-ALJ will be written off.

I see that UL505 (4R-ALO) has been diverted to MCT. Anyone know why?

Supposed to have been an engine issue

Looks like Sri Lanka has caught up with the rest of the World:-

SL to allow chartered flights to fly out tourists
Thu, Mar 26 2020 02:55:14 PM




Colombo, Mar 26 (IANS): Sri Lanka will allow chartered flights from any country to land here and to fly out their nationals who are currently in the island nation on a holiday or work on request, an official statement said on Thursday.

The Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority statement said that as of Wednesday, there were 18,093 international tourists in the country according to local immigration authorities, and Sri Lanka Tourism was closely working with the Foreign Ministry and respective embassies and high commissions to arrange necessary facilities, reports Xinhua news agency.

"Though arrivals are suspended into the country, all departures are supported and SriLankan Airlines operates departure flights daily to UK, Melbourne and Narita," the statement said.

"Sri Lanka Tourism would facilitate any country to fly out their nationals on holiday or on work here, back to their home country via charter flights on request," it added.

Sri Lanka Tourism further said due to the current islandwide curfew, the police had assured that foreign nationals could use their air tickets as a curfew pass to reach the airport.

Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority earlier this week banned international passenger flights from landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport, until further notice to prevent imported new cases of the COVID-19 into the country, but said departures would continue.

Sri Lanka has so far reported 102 confirmed coronavirus cases with no deaths.

A curfew in capital Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara, on the outskirts of Colombo and the northern province is in place indefinitely.

Source: daijiworld

Saw an Austrian 767-300 in thei new livery operating a flight to CMB yesterday related to this.

SriLankan Airlines seems still operating to London, Melbourne and Tokyo.

Condor Airlines is operating 2 charter flights to Colombo from Frankfurt this week :


Does anyone know if any other airline going to operate charter flights to Colombo to fly out Tourists?