Maldivian Airlines to commence flights to Ratmalana & Mattala Airports soon

Wednesday, February 5, 2020 - 01:00
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Finance

Maldivian Airlines is set to launch flights to Mattala soon. The airline will also have a stopover in Ratmalana as well, AASL Chairman G.A. Chandrasiri said.

He also said that AASL was negotiating with a large number of other international airlines to fly into Mattala. He also said that AASL will build two new duty free shopping complexes at both Ratmalana and Mattala for the benefit of tourists. He said that there will be one duty free shop which will be operational for starters soon as the commencement of the operations of the Mattala and Ratmalana Airports and will be expanded with the expansion of the numbers of passengers with the passage of time.

?Initially, there will be liquor, chocolates and perfumes etc and there will be expansion into other areas as well,? he said. (RL)

Source : Daily news



MRIA to receive Rs. 500 mn facelift

The Government will shortly invest Rs. 500 million for the rehabilitation of the Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) to bring it back to international standards within six months.

?Despite the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa building the Mattala Airport to international standards, the ruination which was taking place during the previous regime was colossal that it will cost around Rs. 500 million, which will also include infrastructure upgrades,? Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd, Retired Major General G.A. Chandrasiri told Daily News Finance .

He also said that Minister of Industrial Exports, Investment Promotion, Tourism and Aviation Prasanna Ranatunga was expected to present a Cabinet Memorandum requesting for Rs. 500 million for the upgrade.

He said that for starters, there has to be around 1,000 acres of jungle land which has to be cleared by the Sri Lanka Army and the Sri Lanka Air Force was in the process of rebuilding the outer and inner perimeter fence, he said.

Most of the damage has been created outside of the Mattala Airport while there has been little damage to the interior of the airport where it was used even to store paddy, he explained.


Major General Chandrasiri also said that the upgrade will also include the creation of a massive cargo hub and also a Flying Academy which will also recruit and train both local and international pilots as well.

He said that the previous government had been extremely negligent in the maintenance of the Mattala Airport where there has been considerable damage to the outfield there were holes in the external perimeter wall and wild animals such as deer and wild boar and wild animals could easily penetrate into the airport premises which could pose a severe security and safety threat to the airport and its operations.

The AASL Chief also said that huge space was available for cargo and industrial activities and a host of other operations which the airport could make ideal use of.

?All these operations were earmarked during the tenure of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Presidency but totally neglected during the tenure of the Sirisena regime,? he explained.

He said that the Mattala airport was continuing its operations where there were 25 aircraft which landed there in January for refueling and other operations but stressed the need was absolutely necessary for higher operational standards if it was to operate at an international level where there were arrivals and departures of around 25-30 aircraft like the BIA on a daily basis.

Will it be profitable route?

Will they be able to transport pax from RML to HRI ?

to me this yet another waste our TAX money.. Rajapakse's somehow wants wants get life out of dying MRIA...
earlier plan was to get budget air lines to connect MLE-RML
which makes sense though...
now this gov wants it to extend to MRIA.. what a joke...

India?s Cabinet approves Alliance Air International flights between India and Sri Lanka
Wed, Feb 5, 2020, 10:42 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.


Feb 05, New Delhi: India?s Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has granted ex-post facto dispensation to Alliance Air, a 100 percent subsidiary of Air India, to fly on international sectors between India and Sri Lanka.

A special dispensation is allowed for the interim period till Alliance Air deploys minimum of 20 Aircraft or 20 percent of total capacity, whichever is higher for domestic operations, a Press Information Bureau statement said.

?India has close bilateral ties with Sri Lanka and our interest is to increase connectivity and to expand people to people contacts between the two countries,? the statement said.

Prior to this approval there was no commercial operation scheduled from Palaly and Batticaloa airports.

In November last year, Alliance Air said flight service between Chennai and Jaffna Palaly international Airport in Sri Lanka will begin operations from November 11.

The direct flight service which was inaugurated with a maiden flight on October 17 at the opening of the Jaffna Airport was initially scheduled to begin on November 1.

Source:colombopage

Kapila Chandrasena and his wife surrender to the CID
February 6, 2020 - 10:35


Former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SriLankan Airlines Kapila Chandrasena and his wife Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayaka surrendered to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) today.

Attorney General (AG) Dappula de Livera had earlier directed the CID to arrest them and produce them in court.

After considering Investigative material submitted by the CID the AG directed the Director of the CID to obtain an arrest warrant from court and arrest and produce Chandrasena and his wife as suspects on charges of money laundering in the SriLankan Airlines ? Airbus deal.



The Colombo Fort Magistrate issued the warrant after the CID submitted a request to court.



The AG had also instructed the CID to forward extracts on the investigations to the Bribery Commission.

A corrupt deal involving aircraft manufacturer Airbus and Sri Lanka was exposed last week.



Airbus reached a record 3.6 Billion Euro settlement with US, UK and French authorities following a 4 year investigation into allegations of bribery and corruption.

The statement of facts issued on 31 January 2020 as part of the Deferred Prosecution Agreement reached between Airbus and the prosecuting authorities, indicates that Airbus had agreed to pay out a sum of 16.84 Million US dollars to a company registered in Brunei under the wife of an executive at SriLankan Airlines. Furthermore, the statement reads that Airbus had paid out a sum of 2 Million US dollars of the agreed amount to the company.

?Between 1 July 2011 and 1 June 2015 Airbus SE failed to prevent persons associated with Airbus SE from bribing others concerned with the purchase of aircraft by SriLankan Airlines from Airbus, namely directors and/or employees of SriLankan Airlines, where the said bribery was intended to obtain or retain business or advantage in the conduct of business for Airbus SE,? the statement of facts noted. (Colombo Gazette)

Kapila being arrested is a surprise.

This piece of human garbage is a Rajapakse man - was also involved in a corrupt Telecoms deal involving the previous President's brother.

I'm sure he's protected - he knows too much!

Well it is only a matter of little time before they are granted bail. This is country that you can steal coconuts and not get away as a poverty-stricken but no so for all the big chaps even if they rob an entire bank.

Sick and tired of this system, when will correct justice be served in this country.

And Airbus as a multinational company should be deeply embarrassed regarding this revelation.
Airbus clearly knows that UL would purchase Airbus over Boeing on any given time, So seems like the former CEO has done some manipulations and bribery during the business process but whatever said than done airbus shouldn't have been involved.

I feel sorrowful as a humble taxpayer because Firstly, Kapila made a fortune while purchasing the 10 Aircraft. Then his successor had his pockets full during the cancellation of the order. Regimes may come and go people might change but it is us, the ill-treated tax payer who has to bear the brunt of it and pay for someone else fortunes.

I wouldn't mind if a CEO of a lucrative airline does this but this happening to UL is just adding insult to injury which already is in a towering debt and having previous records of corruption.

This is like feeding trees to prideful white elephant.

All this while certain services at MRIA were free of charge or high incentives, but did any foreign airline visit the airport.

It was always a question whether a tiny island nation like SL needed a second International airport.

More comedies or grievances are on the way as the current regime tries to bring the ill-fated birds sanctuary-cum-Airport back to life.

And about the duty free shops, comparing operations of the BIA's duty free to a foreign example is like comparing Lanka Sathosa to a city center so what can you expect out of MRIA. already the tenders of these were disputed and earnings are questionable in contrast to foreign standards.

So rather than further investing money on MRIA ,specially when the economy is in a perilous state and every penny counts. It is better to invest it together with some additional funding on the refurbishment of the BIA in which a lucrative return could be expected.

But one can speculate whether, is all this done for a political retribution at the cost of this poor countries finances since the previous regime used it as a paddy storage.

Why Sri Lanka did not stop flights betwwen China and Sri Lanka?
Our crew still using hotels, transport and airport facilities in China!
Return fights from China got crew and passangers interacted with local people living there.
These crew members and passangers may carry the risk to their own families and others in Sri Lanka.
Theses aircraft returning from China handled by staff and new passangers flying to other destinations and no specific disinfectant methods applying after returning from China.

China Southern Feb/Mar 2020 service adjustment as of 06FEB20
Guangzhou ? Colombo ? Male 09FEB20 ? 28MAR20 3 weekly service cancelled

Sadly I think you are correct. He knows too much.

Unfortunately people are still missing the fact that Commissions were paid on these deals. Still not clear who pocketed over $100 Million.

Still - seeing Kapila in handcuffs made my day!

Air China cancels Chengdu - Colombo flights

Chengdu ? Colombo 10FEB20 ? 28MAR20 4 weekly service cancelled by Air China