New Delhi: In a major development in the aviation sector, government on October 21 allowed private domestic carriers to operate abroad, starting with destinations in Sri Lanka, under an agreement reached between Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe.

"With a view to increasing tourist flow and connectivity, it was decided to encourage private scheduled airlines of India, who operate only in domestic sector at present, to extend their operations to airports in Sri Lanka," an External Affairs spokesman said in New Delhi.

PTI