Colombo, March 8 (IANS) Sri Lanka celebrated the International Women's Day on Friday by its national air carrier SriLankan Airlines operating its first all female crew flight from Colombo to Singapore and launching all female compartments in passenger trains to ensure the safety of women travellers.

The UL306 flight took off from Colombo's Bandaranaike International Airport in the morning, carrying over 170 passengers on board, the airline said in a statement cited by Xinhua news agency.

The flight landed back in Colombo from Singapore in the afternoon. It was piloted by Captain Simran Ghumman and First Officer Maneesha Nambuge.

The Sri Lankan government also launched "all female compartments" in passenger trains in order to ensure the safety of women travellers.

The Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry said the compartments would help minimize harassment faced by women in public transport and special security officers would be deployed in each compartment to prevent any unruly behaviour.

The compartments would also help reduce overcrowding in trains.

In a recent report, the UN Population Fund said that at least 90 per cent of women faced harassment on trains and buses and incidents were on the rise because victims refuse to speak up.

--IANS soni/prs