Thursday 13 / February / 2025
Muscat: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has issued a statement clarifying its actions with regards to reports of a Sri Lankan airplane being denied emergency landing permissions in Oman.
A statement by the authority said, "The CAA has followed with great interest the news published by a foreign electronic newspaper, claiming that concerned authorities in Oman had rejected a request made by a Sri Lankan flight for an emergency landing due to a shortage of fuel."
"The Authority investigated further, checking requests made for flight permits, and followed up on navigational communication records. It has become clear that the CAA did not recieve any request for an emergency landing from the aforementioned aircraft."
"Records show that the first contact by the Muscat Air Control Centre, with the pilot of the plane (Flight ALK504) on July 6, 2021 was before the plane entered Omani airspace. The flight requested a direct route due to a shortage of fuel and this request was immediately met."
Coordination with Sri Lankan airlines was also ensured and the airline has rubbished the story as false, the CAA said. "The CAA reiterates that it will not spare any effort in responding quickly to any emergency in order to preserve the lives of passengers, in compliance with international conventions and charters."
