Minister Piyankara Jayaratne revealed in Parliament today that Sri Lanka has permitted the use of its airspace to carry out search operations for the missing Malaysian aircraft.
The Minister said that the country’s fleet of aircraft is about 15 years old. They have to spend a colossal sum to repair them. Plans have been drawn up to hand over the old aircraft and secure new planes during the period 2014 to 2020 and make it more efficient while earning profits.
In response to a query raised by Parliamentarian Ravi Karunayake whether Sri Lanka has granted permission to use its airspace to search for the Malaysian airplane, the Minister said that Sri Lanka had permitted to use its airspace to carry out search operations.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Government has sought support from Sri Lanka to search for its missing aircraft. There is information that the chief pilot of the aircraft had studied the location of runways in Sri Lanka
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on the 08th of this month disappeared in the South China Sea area. Comprehensive operations have been launched in search of the missing aircraft. The External Affairs Ministry said that the Malaysian Government had sought Sri Lanka’s support in these operations. Accordingly Sri Lanka will be supporting the operations in the Northern and southern areas of the Indian Ocean.
In the meantime, investigations into the flight simulator taken from the missing pilot’s home showed a software for five practice runaways, including one belonging to the United States, Male International Airport in Maldives, three airports in India and Sri Lanka. Accordingly there is a doubt that the pilot, Capt. Sharai Ahmed Sha of the missing air plane had studied the run ways of many countries including Sri Lanka.
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