Sri Lanka, March 10 -- Following the closure of Middle Eastern airspace, SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier, has adopted an alternative route through Afghanistan and Azerbaijan for its European destinations, an official said.

The airspace in the Middle East mostly remain closed due to the widening conflict that started with the US-Israeli attack on Iran. Iran has fired at US bases in the region, leading to the disruption of flight operations to and through the region.

Captain Daminda Rambukwella, the Director General of Civil Aviation and Chief Executive Officer, told Daily Mirror that flight time to London, for example, had increased by one and a half hours because of the route change. He said the payload (the total weight of pas...