A Sri Lankan airlines special charter flight which recently traveled between London and Shanghai, carrying Chinese passengers, was purely a commercial flight which operated following a request made to Sri Lankan by the Chinese authorities to help transport its citizens back home before UK takes steps to shut down the Heathrow Airport amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Daily Mirror learns.

The matter had created controversy in recent days after UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera queried on his Twitter account as to why a UL flight had operated in transporting the Chinese passengers and why China did not choose one of their own airlines instead to carry their citizens home. Samaraweera claimed that China has over a dozen international carriers and further queried if all the passengers had been tested/quarantined before leaving London.
The UL 504 flight from London, had landed at the BIA and passengers were on transit for two hours before departing for Shanghai on UL 866. All passengers on board were Chinese nationals. 

An authoritative source told Daily Mirror that passengers had paid for their airline tickets and Sri Lankan had assisted China in its request, under humanitarian grounds, as China needed the assistance of more international airlines to help them transport its citizens out of the UK.

The source further said that this trip helped Sri Lankan airlines earn some revenue at a time when the global airline market had been severely hampered following the closure of airports in several countries.

"What is wrong in operating a flight, if it was paid for? Sri Lankan Airlines carried humans and not animals," the government source said.

When contacted, an official from the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said its embassies in London and Colombo were not aware of this particular flight but they appreciated Sri Lankan Airlines' service at this time.

The official said they learned that this flight operated purely under a commercial arrangement under strict quarantine regulations and the passengers, who were students had paid for their tickets. 

Sri Lanka's Airport and Aviation Services, who also released a small statement soon after Samaraweera's query said that all passengers who transited at the BIA after landing from London were transferred from aircraft to aircraft within a radius of 100 meters at the parking bay, with the highest focus and adherence to health regulations. None of the said passengers were brought into the terminal.

Samaraweera later on his Twitter account said that he was happy Sri Lanka had been able to help Chinese students in London return to China.

He further called on the government to also help hundreds of Sri Lankan students without VIP connections who want to return back home. (JAMILA HUSAIN)