Airline resumes Sri Lanka flights

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The international airline, Emirates, has said that it will resume day-time services to Sri Lanka following rebel air raids near the island's airport.

An Emirates spokesman said that a review of services to the country's only international airport had concluded that a resumption was safe.

The spokesman said that Emirates flights would recommence on Friday.

The airline suspended its services on Sunday, shortly after an air attack on Colombo by the Tamil Tigers.

Emirates, which owns a 43.6% stake in the national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, operates flights from Dubai to the Maldives, Singapore and Indonesia through Colombo.

In Sunday's attack, a fuel storage tank was destroyed and two buildings were damaged.

Cathay, Asia's third-largest carrier, has yet to resume operations while Singapore Airlines announced that it would only fly during the day to Colombo.

Correspondents say that Singapore, Cathay and Emirates account for about a quarter of Sri Lanka's air passenger traffic.

The Emirates suspension of services left Sri Lanka's World Cup cricket team stranded in London without a connecting flight home.

The players will now arrive on another airline, a Sri Lanka Cricket spokesman said.