Sri Lanka to now accept inbound travellers, except those from India

Sri Lanka has temporarily lifted the ban on inbound travellers from June 1. The country is however still cautious about travellers from India, and has therefore decided to continue the ban for those who have stayed in India in the last 14 days before arriving in Sri Lanka.
According to the latest travel rules in Sri Lanka, flights are only permitted to carry a maximum of 75 passengers, and all passengers are required to be quarantined for 14 days.


A statement from the office of Civil Aviation said, "Any passenger with a travel history to India including transit in the past 14 days will not be permitted to arrive. Foreign nationals, seafarers, businessmen, investors and others are required to obtain approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enter the island along with the entry visa. A negative PCR test must be taken by all categories of travellers before departure point of origin as per airline or country requirements. And all passengers must adhere to the paid quarantine procedure."
India was Sri Lanka’s top inbound travel market before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. The Colombo airport was also a transit hub for Indians who were heading to West Asia before the current wave. This facility was stopped in early May due to the rise in Covid cases in the country.

Both countries were working on a tourism travel bubble before the new wave began, but now that too has stopped short.