Sri Lanka's main airport on Saturday denied the island nation's government was behind a decision to detain an Aeroflot aircraft, after Russia lodged a diplomatic protest over the move.

The Airbus A330 was seized at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Thursday, the same day it arrived from Moscow, after a directive from a court in the capital Colombo.

Flight SU289 was about to return to the Russian capital with 191 passengers and 13 crew aboard.

Sri Lanka's top envoy was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry on Friday to receive a "resolute protest" over the detention, Russian state news agency TASS reported. But Airport and Aviation Services, which runs Bandaranaike airport, said in a statement the dispute was "purely of a commercial nature" and should not be subject to state involvement.

The plane was stopped on the orders of Colombo Commercial Court in response to a commercial dispute filing by Celestial Aviation Trading 10 Limited of Ireland.

The tourists have been put up at two hotels in Katunayake and Negombo and Russian-owned Aeroflot aircraft were expected to arrive by Saturday and Sunday with another set of tourists and they will repatriate those stranded tourists.

An official from the Russian Embassy met Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday and queried why CAASL did not keep its word that it would not impound the flight and accept the Restraining Order submitted by a local lawyer representing Aeroflot’s Irish lessor rather than accepting it from the registrar of the Attorney General’s Department.

When the lawyers submitted the Court order, the CAASL had grounded the flight in fear, whereas legally the Airbus could have left with its passengers.

According to former Sri Lankan ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, the CAASL had stated in writing to the Russian Government that Sri Lanka would not allow Aeroflot aircraft to be impounded and that assurance was given without consent from the Foreign Ministry and the Attorney General’s Department, which was of paramount importance, as Russia is being penalised for its invasion of Ukraine. The guarantee letter was issued by CAASL in March this year.

“It’s risky not to have double-checked with the Foreign Ministry and the AG’s Department whether the CAASL could offer a guarantee letter of that nature,” he added.  CAASL, in the letter, said scheduled, registered Aeroflot flights will not be impounded in Sri Lanka. The case is to be heard on Wednesday. The aircraft is parked at Bandaranaike International Airport, north of Colombo.

Aeroflot suspended all international flights in March following tough Western sanctions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, but resumed operations to Colombo in the following month. Russia is engaged in a severe diplomatic tussle with the West over the war in Ukraine. Global players and aviation experts have raised concerns and brought sanctions on Russia due to the ongoing Ukraine war. It is said that over 175 Aeroflot aircraft are leased for 10 to 15 years from many Western countries and they are demanding their aircraft back and have also cancelled the leasing agreement with the airline.

Russia's civil aviation body had recommended airlines operating rental planes registered in foreign countries cease international flights to avoid their seizure. It remains unclear whether the detention of flight SU289 was related to those sanctions.

Image source: Economic Times