A Sri Lankan Airlines flight arriving from Chennai underwent a special security operation at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Saturday after a specific intelligence flagged the presence of potential suspects linked to the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
A Police Spokesperson said that an alert from India about six suspected terrorists on a flight from Chennai prompted Sri Lankan officials to conduct a search upon the aircraft’s arrival.
“The search was carried out in coordination with local authorities following an alert from the Chennai Area Control Centre regarding a suspect wanted in India who was believed to be on board", the Sri Lankan Police said.
In an official statement, Sri Lankan Airlines said that Flight UL 122, operated by aircraft 4R-ALS, was thoroughly checked by security officials upon its arrival in Colombo from Chennai.
“SriLankan Airlines wishes to inform the public that Flight UL 122, operated by aircraft 4R-ALS, which arrived in Colombo from Chennai at 11:59 hrs today (3 May), was subjected to a comprehensive security search upon arrival," the statement read.
“This was carried out in coordination with local authorities following an alert from the Chennai Area Control Centre regarding a suspect wanted in India who was believed to be on board," it added.
The airlines further stated that the aircraft was inspected and subsequently cleared for further operations. However, due to the mandatory security procedure, the next scheduled service—Flight UL308 to Singapore—was delayed.
“The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority, and we strive to ensure that the highest standards of safety are consistently maintained," it added
Terrorists unleashed gunfire in Pahalgam on April 22, killing at least 26 people — mostly tourists — in the deadliest attack in the Valley since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the banned Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), claimed responsibility for the terror attack, prompting India to downgrade its diplomatic ties with Pakistan on all fronts.
