Stranded passengers wait inside the departure terminal at Colombo's international airport. Violence in Sri Lanka has delayed the country's cricketers' homecoming. - Reuters

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP):

SRI LANKA'S cricket team is making new travel plans after the airline that was supposed to fly them home cancelled all flights to the country's capital because of Tamil Tiger rebel air raids, an official said yesterday.

The national team, runner-up in the Cricket World Cup, is currently in London and efforts are under way to ensure that the squad returns to Colombo by tomorrow, Sri Lanka Cricket spokesman Samantha Algama said. They earlier planned to fly on Dubai-based Emirates airlines.

Both Emirates and Cathay Pacific have suspended all flights to the Sri Lankan capital after a rebel attack on Sunday on fuel facilities on the outskirts of the city.

First air strike

In March, the Tamil Tigers targeted an airforce base near the country's only international airport, in their first air strike since they began fighting for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority in 1983.

The rebel air attacks have forced officials to briefly shut down the airport twice.

The cricket board has arranged a ceremony honouring the team when it returns tomorrow, Algama said.