Beyond 'call of duty', Indian airports allow 120+ Lanka-bound aircraft to land

New Delhi, July 14: Amid rising protests in the island nation, over 120 Sri Lanka-bound flights were allowed to make technical landings in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports. This move by the airports has garned lot of praise from the Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Taking to Twitter, Scindia applauded Trivandrum and Kochi airport for demonstrating the Indian spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world is a family.

"The airports have gone beyond their call of duty by allowing technical landing to 120+ aircraft bound for Sri Lanka. The gesture will go a long way in furthering ties with our neighbour," Scindia said in a tweet.

Kerala airports have lent a helping hand to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka by providing technical landing facilities for the airlines bound for Colombo and flying out to West Asian and European destinations from Colombo, for refuelling and crew exchange.

In the wake of the latest developments, India said the situation in Sri Lanka is sensitive and they are focusing on ways to help the island nation in all possible ways.

For many months now, Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is under the grip of an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, crippled by an acute shortage of foreign exchange that has left it struggling to pay for essential imports of fuel, and other essentials.