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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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
