The three Airbuses destroyed constituted three of SriLankan Airlines' 12 aircraft. In the end, British work-share was increased from that of the two previous Airbuses. They were known as "airbuses" at the time. Several cargo airbuses were used in the 1970s to spread pesticides in local paddy fields. In 2014 the runway was closed to Airbuses for over three months for massive repairs.