Ajan Brahm, a prominent Buddhist monk who was delivering a sermon in Perth, Australia, explained the controversy around his "missed flight" at the Katunaike Airport as he was not taken to the gate from the VIP lounge on time.

Brahm, who is a popular speaker and author, was due to fly to Signapore from Sri Lanka last week. However, he was not taken to the gate until after his flight had departed.

He said that he had been waiting in the VIP lounge for some time before he was finally taken to the gate.

"I saw in a newspaper that the Sri Lankan President has launched an inquiry to find out why I have missed my flight," Brahm said. "He's supposed to be running a country! Somebody made a little mistake and there is no need for an inquiry into that."

The Sri Lankan President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The inquiry is expected to look into the reasons for the delay and to identify who was responsible for the incident.

Brahm's flight was operated by Singapore Airlines.