The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) resumed its charter flights between Jaffna and Colombo from Monday (03) for those who seek medical treatments.
“ICRC Transported nine patients requiring specialized medical care, accompanied by two doctors and five bystanders on the first day,” the ICRC said.
Since September 2006, the ICRC had chartered weekly flights to transport patients whose conditions require specialized surgery, medical investigations or treatment not available in the Jaffna peninsula.
"We temporarily suspended ICRC-chartered flights between Jaffna and Colombo to re-assess technical arrangements and passenger safety,” said Toon Vandenhove, ICRC's Head of Delegation in Colombo.
"We worked under great pressure to resume flights, knowing that some patients would find it very hard to travel for more than 30 hours by sea and road to reach health facilities in Colombo," he said.
Starting from Monday, the ICRC will operate two chartered flights per week using a Beechcraft B1900 C that can accommodate up to 15 passengers.
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