120 Sri Lanka-bound flights diverted to Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports

On Wednesday, as the crisis in debt-ridden Sri Lanka reached a culminating point, over a hundred flights bound for the island nation were diverted to India; primarily to the Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram airports in Kerala.

Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency after the crisis-hit nation's president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled to the Maldives, after months of protests against his government over the worst economic crisis in the nation's history.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is now an acting president, has declared a state of emergency in the country and a curfew in the Western province had been imposed.

Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia applauded Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports on Wednesday for going out of their way to help the crisis-hit nation.

"The airports have gone beyond their call of duty by allowing technical landing to 120+ aircraft bound for Sri Lanka. The gesture will go a long way in furthering ties with our neighbour," Scindia said in a tweet.

Kerala airports have lent a helping hand to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka by providing technical landing facilities for the airlines bound for Colombo and flying out to West Asian and European destinations from Colombo, for refuelling and crew exchange.

Over 120 aircraft have made technical landings in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports since the political turmoil and shortage of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) gripped the country.