The Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) said it will continue to undertake civilian flights across the island, despite a suspension over airworthiness of some of its aircraft.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) had recalled the certificate of airworthiness (CofA) issued to the air force’s Xian MA60 aircraft, reports the Sunday Times.
Despite this the SLAF’s Group Captain Seneviratne said the military “has not made any policy decision to refrain from transport of civilian passengers in duly approved and certified civilian transport aircraft and will continue working with the CAASL to improve its civilian passenger transport safety and standards”.
However, a senior officer admitted that the MA60 aircraft had been “grounded for maintenance”.
“Under our regulations, we can still use it for military flights but to transport civilian passengers, we have to remove that small unit,” said the officer.
The announcement by the air force comes as the military continues to involve itself in civilian activities across the island, particularly in the Tamil North-East.