Middle East Crisis: Colombo and Mattala airports on standby for emergency landings
June 24, 2025 12:08 am
The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and the Mattala International Airport have been kept on standby for any requests by civil airlines for emergency landings, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.
The CAA said the decision has been taken due to the current volatile situation in Qatar.
Meanwhile, five SriLankan Airlines flights have been diverted to the Muscat International Airport in Oman, the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates due to the current situation in the Middle East.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka said all precautionary measures will be taken to ensure the safety of Sri Lankans and other passengers using SriLankan Airlines.
This comes amidst the announcement of the closure of several airspaces in the Middle East following today’s airstrikes by Iran on an US military base in Doha, Qatar.
Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait have closed their respective airspaces following airstrikes by Iran targeting the Al Udeid US military base in Doha.
Meanwhile, airlines are continuing to reroute flights significantly due to wider regional tensions.
Iran’s military said on Monday it had carried out a “devastating and powerful” missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. airbase in Qatar, after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran’s threat to retaliate for U.S. airstrikes.
Iran had issued threats to retaliate against the United States after U.S. bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear sites at the weekend, joining Israel’s air war against Tehran, and President Donald Trump mooted the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled.
Qatar’s defence minister, quoted by Al Jazeera TV, said its air defences had intercepted missiles directed at the Al Udeid airbase, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, situated across the Gulf from Iran.
Qatari authorities said there were no casualties in the attack, which it condemned and said it reserved the right to respond.
