The Director General of Civil Aviation has instructed all online and offline carriers that the maximum permitted transit time at BIA for any passenger transiting BIA should strictly be not more than six hours. All concerned passengers have been requested to obtain a confirmed onward connection out of BIA to onward destination. Chairman Upul Dharmadasa said that although arrivals have been restricted at the airport, aircraft departures with passengers originating from Colombo, transits, emergency diversions to BIA, freighter operations and humanitarian flights to BIA, technical landing and inbound ferry flights (without passengers) at BIA are permitted.