Sri Lanka today allowed flights from Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the US to use its air space for search operations to trace the missing Malaysian passenger aircraft.

The External Affairs Ministry said that a request had been made for Lanka’s air space to be used during the search and rescue operations for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which suddenly disappeared with 239 people on board on March 8.

It said the request has been granted for aircraft from Malaysia, US, Australia and New Zealand in the ongoing search and rescue operations.

Lankan Mission in Malaysia had asked the Malaysian authorities if any direct assistance was required in the search and rescue operations but so far such assistance has not been sought, the ministry said.

The mystery of the missing plane from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing continued to baffle aviation and security authorities who have not succeeded in tracking the aircraft despite deploying hi-tech radar and other gadgets.