Sri Lanka's World Cup cricketers have been left stranded in London after their connecting flight back to Colombo was cancelled. The delay follows an air attack on Colombo on Sunday by the Tamil Tigers.
The players were booked to fly home with the Emirates airline. But Emirates has suspended flights to Colombo after Sunday's attack.
Officials say the 15-man squad and management team will now go back home early on Wednesday on another airline.
'Aerial attacks'
"We knew there was a danger our flight home on Emirates would be delayed because of security concerns following the weekend attack," team Manager Michael Tissera told the BBC's Sinhala service.
"But we also knew that we would have to come to London to see if it could be sorted out.
"We have arranged to take a Qatar Airways flight instead, which arrives in Colombo on 3 May at seven in the morning."
Sri Lanka Cricket's media spokesman, Samantha Algama, told the AFP news agency that he hoped celebrations to mark the team's appearance in the World Cup final would still go ahead.
"The parade and reception at Independence Square will go ahead as planned," Mr Algama said.
The Tigers warned on Monday their nascent air wing would launch more aerial attacks after a pre-dawn raid on oil facilities near the capital on Sunday.
The attack took place as fans in Colombo were watching the World Cup final in Barbados which Sri Lanka lost to Australia.
The authorities turned off much of Colombo's power during the raid, plunging the capital into darkness.
Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific and Dubai-based Emirates suspended flights, while Singapore Airlines said it would only fly into Colombo during the day.
It was the third air attack carried out by the Tamil Tigers. The first was carried out in late March.
The Sri Lanka Tourist Board issued a statement on Monday which said that Sunday's attack had caused little damage and that the country remained a safe place for tourists.
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