Sri Lanka to end travel ban on inbound travellers; restrictions on India arrivals remain

Colombo: Sri Lanka on Wednesday announced the lifting of its temporary travel ban on inbound travellers from June 1, except for passengers who spent time in India during the last 14 days.

All incoming flights, however, will be limited to a maximum of 75 passengers and they will be subjected to a 14 day quarantine period.

"Any passenger with a travel history to India including transit in the past 14 days will not be permitted to arrive," the civil aviation office said in a statement.

Foreign nationals, seafarers, businessmen, investors and others are required to obtain approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enter the island along with the entry visa.

A negative PCR test must be taken by all categories of travellers before departure point of origin as per airline or country requirements. And all passengers must adhere to the paid quarantine procedure."

The Colombo airport was acting as a transit hub for Indians travelling to West Asia, but the facility was withdrawn in early May due to the current surge in the pandemic.

Before the current wave, Sri Lanka and India were making arrangements for a tourism travel bubble.

India remained Sri Lanka's top inbound travel market before the onset of the pandemic.

Sri Lanka has reported 1.7 lakh COVID-19 cases so far with 1,269 deaths.