Sri Lanka establishes air connectivity between four provinces of the country
Sri Lanka’s Transport and Civil Aviations Minister Arjuna Ranatunga has said the country will soon initiate flights from the Ratmalana airport to three key regional airports in the country – Mattala, Palaly and Batticaloa airports.
This would also create air connectivity between the Northern, Southern and Eastern Provinces with the Western Province, which is the financial and administrative hub of the country.
During an inspection tour around the development site of the Northern Palaly Airport, Ranatunga has said that local companies would be given preference and financial assistance to operate domestic flights.
The Minister has further told the media that the government would even go to the extent of paying for some of the empty passenger seats if a domestic airline does not have passengers to reach the breakeven point.
“The government would invest over Rs. 3 billion to convert Palaly from a regional airport to an international airport, initially operating flights to regional airports in India,” Ranatunga has said.
The Minister has noted that an international airport would be ready by October 10 and international flight services would commence from October 16, 2019.
He has added that the people of the North would get more job opportunities while tourism in the area too would receive a major boost.
OSL take:
The government of Sri Lanka has given priority to the upliftment and development of the country’s aviation sector. While prominence is being given to increase connectivity within the country, domestic aviation has also been earmarked as a key sector for development. Also, the development of the country’s Northern Palaly Airport as a regional airport and the Mattala international airport in the South would definitely improve the country’s air connectivity and further help Sri Lanka achieve its targeted hub status in the Indian Ocean region. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore business/investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s aviation sector while also vying for the development of the country’s airport network.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/09092019/Z_4 |