Sri Lanka, July 15 -- Two SriLankan Airlines aircraft were forced to circle over the Middle East for more than an hour after Kuwait and Saudi Arabia temporarily closed their airspaces following a sudden military escalation in the region, SriLankan Airlines Head of Corporate Communications Deepal Perera said.

He said the two aircraft, which had departed from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Katunayake, for Kuwait City and Dammam International Airport, were unable to proceed as planned due to the airspace restrictions.

According to Perera, SriLankan Airlines flights UL-229 and UL-253, both operated by A321neo aircraft, faced the situation on July 14 as they approached the Middle East region following a series of missile and dron...