SL Airlines praises pilots for averting mid-air collision with British Airways flight over Turkey
Colombo, Jun 15: Srilankan Airlines on Wednesday praised its pilots for safely commandeering a flight from London to Colombo on Monday after reports emerged that an aircraft of the national carrier averted a possible mid-air collision with a British Airways flight over Turkey which risked the lives of over 500 passengers.
The national carrier said that the vigilance of the pilots and the state-of-the-art communication and surveillance system onboard the aircraft enabled safe passage for UL 504 on June 13.
Further, SriLankan Airlines commends the timely action of the pilots operating UL 504, which ensured the safety of all passengers, crew and equipment onboard UL 504, the airline said in a statement.
The clarification was issued after media reports claimed that UL 504, flying from London to Colombo, avoided its biggest possible mid-air collision while in Turkish airspace.
The reports said the Airbus A333 aircraft carrying 275 passengers had entered the Turkish Airspace after leaving Heathrow en route to Colombo.
The Srilankan flight had been told to climb to 35,000 feet from the 33,000 feet they were flying at.
Right then, the Srilankan flight detected a British Airways flight with more than 250 people on board just 15 miles away from them flying at 35,000 feet and informed the air traffic control at Ankara.
The Srilankan pilots refused to climb despite being cleared twice erroneously by the Ankara air traffic control.
Minutes later, the air traffic responded urgently, informing the Srilankan flight not to climb as there was already a flight right above at 35,000 feet, a British Airways flight to Dubai.
If the UL captain had climbed to the requested height, the UL flight would have faced a mid-on collision with the British Airways flight, as it was flying at a faster speed than the UL flight, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
After landing at the Bandaranaike International Airport here, the passengers safely disembarked from the flight along with the crew and a report on the incident was filed, it added.
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Fact- checker Mohammed Zubair schools Uttarakhand CM over “PR call” to Tripura student’s family
New Delhi/Dehradun: Journalist and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair on Monday criticised Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over what he described as a delayed response to the killing of Tripura student Anjel Chakma in Dehradun, calling the chief minister’s outreach a “PR call” after days of public outrage.
In a post on X, Zubair pointed out that Anjel Chakma was attacked on December 9 and died on December 26 after weeks of treatment. He noted that the incident was reported by local media and discussed on social media on the very day of the attack, while national media covered it from December 27 onwards. Zubair said widespread outrage persisted online for two to three days before the chief minister finally spoke to the victim’s family.
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“Finally Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami wakes up and decides to do a PR call,” Zubair wrote, questioning the timing of the response rather than the assurance itself.
Zubair’s remarks came shortly after the Uttarakhand Chief Minister’s Office said Dhami had spoken to Anjel’s father, Tarun Prasad Chakma, and assured strict action against those responsible. Dhami expressed condolences and said the culprits would be given the harshest punishment. The chief minister also said he had spoken to Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh regarding the case.
A video of Dhami speaking to the victim’s family on his phone was also shared later by ANI and other media outlets. Zubair made the tweet while replying to the video of X.
Anjel Chakma, a 24-year-old MBA student from Tripura, was allegedly assaulted by a group of youths in the Selakui area under Premnagar police station limits on December 9. Police said Anjel and his brother Michael were attacked with knives and blunt objects following an argument. Anjel suffered serious injuries and later died while undergoing treatment.
So far, five accused have been arrested, while one suspect, believed to have fled to Nepal, remains absconding. Uttarakhand Police have announced a reward for information leading to his arrest.
The killing triggered protests and candlelight marches in Tripura, particularly by members of the Tipra Indigenous Students Federation and other student bodies, who have demanded swift justice and highlighted concerns over repeated attacks on people from the Northeast in other states.
Political reactions have also followed, with Congress leaders linking the incident to what they describe as a climate of normalised hate. Against this backdrop, Zubair’s post has added to the debate by shifting focus to the timing and optics of the state government’s response, rather than its stated assurances alone.
