A Sri Lankan court on Monday revoked an order preventing the departure of an operated-Russian plane held at the country’s main international airport over a commercial dispute.
The same court grounded the aircraft for two weeks. Then, the Air traffic controllers denied clearance for flight SU289 to return to Moscow on Thursday.
The seizure of the aircraft led to a diplomatic spat, with Moscow summoning Sri Lanka’s top envoy to the Russian foreign ministry on Friday to hear a “resolute protest” over the detention.
Airport and Aviation Services, which runs the Bandaranaike International Airport, said in a statement the dispute was “purely of a commercial nature” and should not be subject to state involvement.
Nonetheless, the state attorney general moved to have the case heard two days ahead of schedule and pleaded for the aircraft to be allowed to fly back.
Sri Lanka detained the Russian-operated plane, preventing it from leaving the South Asian island as the Western sanctions continue to disrupt Russia’s travel industry.
The plane was permitted to fly to Moscow as scheduled on June 2 amid a legal dispute with a leasing company. The flight, which was Airbus A330-343 operated by the Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot, had more than 200 passengers onboard.
Celestial Aviation Trading Limited, one of the largest plane-leasing firms, is seeking to confiscate the jet after Russia failed to return its property.
The bloc’s sanctions demanded Russia return any aircraft leased from EU firms by the end of March.
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded Sri Lanka resolve the situation, warning it could hurt bilateral relations. Sri Lanka is a popular destination for Russian vacationers.
Follow the latest news on Google News
