No Sri Lankans stranded at U.S. airports – Govt.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday said that there have been no reports of Sri Lankan nationals stranded in the U.S. airports following a travel ban issued by President Donald Trump on seven countries.


The U.S. barred incoming travelers from seven countries, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Libya, for 90 days and blocked refugees from around the world for 120 days

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mahishini Colonne said that Sri Lankan Missions in the U.S. had informed Colombo that there were no confirmed cases of stranded Sri Lankans at the airports.

Colonne added that all Sri Lankan Missions were on alert and in touch with relevant U.S. authorities on this matter.

She further clarified that Sri Lanka was not on the list of countries, whose nationals were banned from entering the U.S.

A media report said recently that 71 individuals from 20 countries, including Sri Lanka, were detained at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport following Trump’s travel ban.

According to the No Ban JFK, a coalition of volunteer attorneys camped out at JFK; those detained included travelers from Malaysia, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Others are France, Algeria, Jordan, Qatar, Senegal, Switzerland, Algeria, Egypt and Guinea, which were not on the U.S. travel blacklist.

Trump’s travel ban, issued recently, has caused confusion at U.S. airports and sparked lawsuits.