Chennai airport to accommodate flights to Sri Lanka in case of emergency

ndia's Chennai airport has announced that it is ready to accommodate civilian aircraft that may be diverted from Colombo by any LTTE air raids.

Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials are on high alert to handle flight diversions, takeoffs and landings, and flight parking if Colombo airport is suddenly closed, a media report said.

“Priority will be accorded to such flights. Parking bays will be arranged and the local officials of the airline companies will be alerted to take care of passengers,” Airport Director Dinesh Kumar said.

When the LTTE attacked the Katunayake Air Base on March 26, the Bandaranaike International Airport was closed for four hours and Chennai airport handled the landings, with some flights diverted to Thiruvananthapuram.

Extracted from,
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_07/May2130939JV.html