Flight arrives from virus-hit UK  

• Passengers, crew sent to isolated hotel  
• SriLankan flight was on its way when decision was taken to suspend arrivals from UK

By Easwaran Rutnam  

 A scheduled repatriation flight arrived from the virus-hit United Kingdom on Wednesday evening.  

The UK has been hit by a new coronavirus variant named VUI-202012/01 as a result of which Sri Lanka had this week suspended flights from the UK.  

However, Army Commander Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said that the SriLankan Airlines flight was on its way to the UK at the time a decision was taken to suspend arrivals from the UK.  

He said that the flight had arrived in Sri Lanka on Wednesday evening and both the passengers and crew were sent for quarantine.  

Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva said that under normal circumstances passengers and crew of repatriation flights are quarantined separately.  

However, he said the passengers and crew of the flight which arrived from the UK have been placed in a specially selected hotel to be quarantined.