Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, deputy minister of Civil Aviation Service, says the Mattala International Airport will not be shutdown.
The deputy minister, who inspected the airport today, noted that instead, relief will be provided in order to attract aviation companies.
The Mattala International Airport opened February 18, 2013 and has been restricted to one flight per day.
Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena inspected the airport that was built with Chinese funds aimed at facilitating a million passengers per year. The airport has the longest runway for a A380, which is the biggest passenger aircraft in the world. The airport also comprises a cargo terminal that can facilitate 45,000 megatonnes of cargo annually.
The deputy minister noted that in the history of the country, none of the development initiatives have yielded instant benefits. He said there were many allegations against the Mahaweli Development Project but that same project turned out to be one of the most important projects in the country. He added that there were allegations against Norochcholai as well but now the project has come to a stage where it can complete the debt that was taken to finish project. He added that the Mattala Airport can be developed and will not be closed down under any circumstance.
Abeywardena stated that the government’s aspiration is to develop the Mattala International Airport through an Open Aviation Services Policy, and thereby any international airline with a bilateral aviation services agreement with Sri Lanka will be allowed to enter the Mattala Airport. He went on to note that international airlines will be facilitated to enter the airport independently and that a gazette notification in this regard will be produced in the coming months.
He went on to say that currently, this type of system is in place in eight countries and Sri Lanka will be the ninth. He remarked that the objective is to create five journeys in and out from five countries to this airport, noting that that there is hope to reduce an amount of $0.10 from future fuel purchases at the airport.
http://newsfirst.lk/english/2015/06/mattala-international-airport-will-not-be-shut-down/100695
The deputy minister, who inspected the airport today, noted that instead, relief will be provided in order to attract aviation companies.
The Mattala International Airport opened February 18, 2013 and has been restricted to one flight per day.
Deputy Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena inspected the airport that was built with Chinese funds aimed at facilitating a million passengers per year. The airport has the longest runway for a A380, which is the biggest passenger aircraft in the world. The airport also comprises a cargo terminal that can facilitate 45,000 megatonnes of cargo annually.
The deputy minister noted that in the history of the country, none of the development initiatives have yielded instant benefits. He said there were many allegations against the Mahaweli Development Project but that same project turned out to be one of the most important projects in the country. He added that there were allegations against Norochcholai as well but now the project has come to a stage where it can complete the debt that was taken to finish project. He added that the Mattala Airport can be developed and will not be closed down under any circumstance.
Abeywardena stated that the government’s aspiration is to develop the Mattala International Airport through an Open Aviation Services Policy, and thereby any international airline with a bilateral aviation services agreement with Sri Lanka will be allowed to enter the Mattala Airport. He went on to note that international airlines will be facilitated to enter the airport independently and that a gazette notification in this regard will be produced in the coming months.
He went on to say that currently, this type of system is in place in eight countries and Sri Lanka will be the ninth. He remarked that the objective is to create five journeys in and out from five countries to this airport, noting that that there is hope to reduce an amount of $0.10 from future fuel purchases at the airport.
http://newsfirst.lk/english/2015/06/mattala-international-airport-will-not-be-shut-down/100695