The Kushinagar International Airport in Kushinagar, India will officially be declared open today.
The first international flight to land at the Airport, will be a SriLankan Airlines flight India with 100 Buddhist monks onboard.
The SriLankan Airlines flight departed for Kushinagar this morning.
During an online bilateral summit with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the first international flight arriving at the Kushinagar Airport will be a plane carrying Sri Lankan pilgrims.
Accordingly, Anunayake thera of the Asgiriya Chapter ven. Wedaruwe Upali thera and 100 members of the Trincomalee Maha Sangha are on the maiden flight.
Minister Namal Rajapaksa and several other Ministers will also be present.
They are all scheduled to return to Colombo tomorrow afternoon.
The Kapilavastu sacred relics of the Waskaduwa Rajaguru Sri Subhuti Maha Viharaya will also be flown to India.
The relics will be displayed in several Indian cities, including Kushinagar and Sarnath.
