Tense situation at BIA after minister’s alleged interference

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama and T.K.G. Kapila

A tense situation was reported at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) last evening following allegations of interference by Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva in recruiting airport security officers, airport sources said.

It was reported that several rounds of interviews had taken place over the last few weeks to recruit 100 male security officers and 50 female officers at the airport.
According to the sources at the airport, the 100 male security officers were selected according to the given criteria, but another 25 male officers were also selected out of slots allocated for 50 female officers, due to Minister de Silva’s intervention.

“The 25 male officers were not selected according to the selection criteria. Because of this, in total, 25 female officers and 125 male security officers were selected,” sources said.
Due to the involvement of the Minister, a tense situation was reported at the airport premises last evening, the airport source said.

However, the selected trainee security officers had been taken to the Sri Lanka Sinha Regiment Army Camp Ambepussa for training purposes.

Attempts to contact the Minister failed.