26 January 2020 07:38 pm
On the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, SriLankan Airlines has taken steps to facilitate the return home of Sri Lankan students who are currently in China, the airlines said.
The National Carrier is immediately providing a 50% discount to students who wish to return on the airline’s regular scheduled flights from Beijing and Canton.
In addition, SriLankan is planning to operate a charter flight for the students currently in China. Discussions are ongoing with relevant authorities in both China and Sri Lanka in this regard, including civil aviation and health authorities and Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Coronavirus, which originated in China several weeks ago, has spread to more than a dozen countries in Asia, Europe and North America, with more than 1,400 people afflicted and over 40 deaths. Several suspected cases have been detected in Sri Lanka in the past several days.