Due to the war, two Sri Lankan planes circled in the Middle Eastern sky for two hours.

A report from Katunayake Airport states that two SriLankan Airlines aircraft were forced to remain airborne for over an hour due to the closure of airspace in the Middle East region following a sudden military situation. The two aircraft, which were flying to Kuwait and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, were safely kept flying in the vicinity of the region by the pilots until the relevant authorities reopened the airspace, after which they successfully landed at their destinations.

The aircraft UL 229, which departed from Katunayake Airport for Kuwait at 5:10 PM on the 14th, and aircraft UL 253, which departed for Dammam at 6:36 PM on the same day, faced this situation. These two A-321 Neo type aircraft were forced to remain airborne because Kuwait and Saudi Arabia closed their airspaces due to a series of missile and drone attacks launched by Iran as the aircraft approached the respective region.

As the airspace was closed, the two aircraft did not have sufficient fuel to return to Katunayake Airport. Therefore, the pilots decided to take an alternative measure, keeping the aircraft flying in the upper airspace near the region for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Mr. Deepal Perera, Head of Corporate Communications at SriLankan Airlines, confirmed that as soon as the airspace was reopened, the pilots acted promptly to safely land the aircraft at their respective airports.

It is reported that the two affected aircraft had returned to Katunayake International Airport by yesterday (15th) morning. It is further revealed that due to the unstable and warlike situation that arose in the Middle East region, in addition to Sri Lankan aircraft, many other foreign aircraft were also forced to remain airborne, unable to land at their destinations.