Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo is to close at night from next week until further notice, following a series of rebel Tamil Tiger air strikes.

The airport will close between the hours of 2230 and 0430 from May 10 following last Sunday's air raid when Tamil Tigers bombed oil facilities in Colombo. Previously the rebels targeted the military airport near Colombo.

The reason for the delay in implementing the overnight closure is to allow international airlines to reschedule their flight times.

Better news for Colombo is that Emirates is to resume its day-time services after suspending them because of the Tamil Tiger attacks.

The night time closure will obviously have an impact on the Alpha Orient Lanka (AOL) duty free and F&B operations at the airport.