Sri Lanka Airports

Sri Lanka in talks with more airlines to fly to Jaffna International Airport

November 17, 2019 - 08:24

Sri Lanka is in talks with multiple airlines to fly to Jaffna after the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) was launched as an international airport.

Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited*Dammika*Ranatunga said* with the completion of Stage 01 of the renovation of JIA, they can now accommodate aircrafts with upto an 80-seat capacity, and discussions have been initiated with airlines operating within that capacity.

The inauguration of operations was initiated by Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, as it began its scheduled flight operations on 11th of November with a flight arriving from Chennai.

Initially, Alliance Air will operate flights three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. This will later increase to daily flights in between Chennai and Jaffna.

“We also hope to boost connectivity to other destinations in the Indian subcontinent and the Maldives,” he said.

Ranatunga also said that local operator FitsAir will become the first privately owned local airline licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka to operate internationally. FitsAir will operate scheduled and charter flights from JIA to Chennai and Tiruchirappalli International Airports in South India.

He said that the Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka (AASL) is currently negotiating with other targeted airlines to commence operations.

“We also hope to encourage them by offering incentives at the initial stages. Several airlines, including Spice Jet, have already expressed their interest,” he said.

He also said that with the completion of Stage 02 of the expansion, JIA will be able to accommodate larger aircrafts, including those of SriLankan Airlines.

Full interview:

Mr. Ranatunga you head a very important government institution in Sri Lanka. What would you say are the significant achievements of the Airport and Aviation Services in the recent past?

Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited (AASL) is the statutory service provider for the development, operation and maintenance of civil airports of Sri Lanka. The AASL was appointed as the agent of the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) to discharge duties in this capacity as a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The company is among the top most profit-making blue-chip companies in Sri Lanka. It is actively involved in the national infrastructure development drive of the GOSL in the field of aviation.

We are currently developing the Ratmalana, Batticaloa, and Jaffna airports as international airports, thereby increasing our contribution to national GDP.

From a technical aspect, we have done significant enhancements in terms of air navigation services infrastructure by upgrading our Air Traffic Management systems, Communication, Surveillance and Navigation systems with the state-of-the-art technologies.

The Bandaranaike International Airport Development Project Phase II Stage 2 Package B ‘Remote Apron and Taxiways’ is another project that is in the works.

*

Have we been slow in ensuring the domestic airports are in place and well equipped to accommodate air travel around the country?

Yes, there have been some delays in getting things off the ground.

However, now that we have the necessary infrastructure and facilities in place, we believe it will be an invaluable addition to our aviation services, and can contribute greatly to the Sri Lankan economy by boosting tourism opportunities and increasing investment prospects in the hospitality sector.

*

The Jaffna international airport is no doubt a very important milestone*for Sri Lanka and the North? Talk us through*the*idea behind converting the Palaly airport into an international airport.

Construction of new airports at strategic locations and developing existing airports is important in order to reap economic and social benefits in a sustainable manner. Therefore, the objective of converting the airport into an international one was based on the need to develop air connectivity in the region.

The Jaffna International Airport (JIA), located approximately 16 km north of Jaffna, was previously used as a Sri Lanka Air Force base and a domestic airport.

Upgrading of this facility to an international airport is being handled in a carefully planned, phased approach.

Currently, Stage 01 has been completed with an investment of nearly Rs. 1 billion by the Sri Lankan government, and includes complete refurbishment of the runway, international standard terminal and infrastructure upgrades, and the construction of a separate Air Traffic Control tower.

Stage 02, which is scheduled to commence next year, will focus especially on extending the runway to accommodate larger aircrafts, as well as further expansion of the terminals. Subsequently, Stage 03 will ensure that the JIA is operational as a full-fledged international airport which can accommodated any international flight and passengers.

With Stage 01 completed and JIA now being operational, it provides convenient accessibility to growing customer segments and economic centers in India and the Maldives. The completion of Stage 02 and 03 will then provide us increased access to South East Asian markets, and then all around the world.

*

What are the other airlines Sri Lanka is in talks with to establish links with the Jaffna airport?

With the completion of Stage 01 of the renovation of JIA, we can now accommodate aircrafts with upto an 80-seat capacity, and our discussions have been with airlines operating within that capacity.

The inauguration of operations was initiated by Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, as it began its scheduled flight operations on 11th*of November with a flight arriving from Chennai.

Initially, Alliance Air will operate flights 3 times a week on Monday, Wednesdays and Saturdays. This will later increase to daily flights in between Chennai and Jaffna. We also hope to boost connectivity to other destinations in the Indian subcontinent and the Maldives.

This occasion also marks a milestone in Sri Lankan aviation history, with local operator FitsAir becoming the first privately owned local airline licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka to operate internationally. FitsAir will operate scheduled and charter flights from JIA to Chennai and Tiruchirappalli International Airports in South India.

AASL is currently negotiating with other targeted airlines to commence operations. We also hope to encourage them by offering incentives at the initial stages. Several airlines, including Spice Jet, have already expressed their interest.

With the completion of Stage 02 of the expansion, we will be able to accommodate larger aircrafts, including those of Sri Lankan Airlines.

Source: Colombo Gazette
*

Sri Lanka raises Aircraft Navigation facility charges on foreign flights after 38 years

Thu, Nov 14, 2019, 10:13 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Nov 14, Colombo: Sri Lanka's government has decided to increase aircraft navigation facility charges on foreign flights by 57 percent after 38 years.

Announcing the new tariffs at a press conference held at the Ministry of Transport today (14), Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga said the decision was taken in keeping with the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) policies for the determination of air navigation charges.

He said that with the revision of the charges Sri Lanka will earn an additional income of Rs. 813 million annually.

Airline Navigation Facilities and Service Charges are fees charged by a country for foreign aircraft flying over the country's airspace. Charges are also a major source of foreign exchange for a country in the aviation sector.

In Sri Lanka, Civil Aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation is entrusted with charging the air navigation fees.

The last time the Civil Aviation authority revised the fees were in 1981. It is noteworthy that these fees were revised after 38 years.

According to Minister Ranatunga, about 125 flights are using Sri Lankan air space. Earlier Sri Lanka collected a daily income of Rs. 3.9 million from providing Sri Lankan air space and services amounting to an annual income of Rs. 1412.6 million.

"With the new tariff revision, the daily payments will increase to Rs.6.1 million and the annual income will increase to Rs. 2225.6 million. It will be a 57 percent increase," the Minister said.

Minister Arjuna Ranatunga said that the funds will be utilized primarily for the development of the domestic airports and its associated development.

"Our airspace is twenty times larger than our country. That air space is a source of wealth. But no one had tried to take advantage of it before. Especially, in comparison to countries like India, our country's air traffic facilities and service charges were very low. We lost a lot of foreign exchange. But after a long effort we were able to increase these charges," Minister Ranatunga said.

The new tariff will be effective from next February, he added.

"There is a great demand for our airspace due to the increased activity of Indian airspace. Therefore we expect income from these charges will be increased further in the future."

Transport Ministry Secretary L.P Jayampathi, Additional Secretary Sunil Gunawardane, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Chairman Ananda Wimalasena, CAA Director General H.M.C. Nimalsiri, Airport and Airport & Aviation Services Chairman Dhammika Ranatunga and other Ministry officials participated in the meeting.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation said the air navigation facility and its quality have been upgraded after 1981 as follows.

•Secondary Surveillance Radar Cover*
•Performance-Based Air Navigation
•Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Contract (ADS-C)*
•Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broad Cast (ADS-B)*
•Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (CPDC) System
•State-of-the-art ATM Integrated system
•Aero-Mobile Communication Console System
Newly calculated overflying charges will increase National Revenue as follows:

Source:Google

Major electricity breakdown at BIA

November 9, 2019 - 09:15

A major electricity breakdown was reported at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) for over 20 minutes this morning.

Passenger operations at thr airport were sverely affected as a reault of the breakdown.

Passengers were stuck in one lift at the arrivals section of the airport during the breakdown forcing authorities to attempt to force open the lift.

The authorities said that emergency power had not worked at the time of the breakdown.

Source : Colombo Gazette

Interview with AASL about Future Developments

The Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) attached to the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) today conducted drugs and narcotics inspections with the use of two robots for the first time in police history.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said the Police Department received the two robots as a donation from the Chinese Government.*(Chaturanga Samarawickrama and Pix by T.K.G. Kapila)

The Civil Aviation Authority states that daily commercial flights between Jaffna International airport and the Chennai and Trichy airports in India will commence from the 10th of this month.

Director-General, H. M. M. C. Nimalsiri says that the flights will be operated by an Indian Airline. In addition, a locally owned airline has also scheduled flights three times a week from Jaffna to airports located in South India.

Source:News1st

And right on cue an article about the country's debt - makes for interesting reading.



Yes - this will effect UL.
Yes - this will have consequences for things like construction projects.

My posts expose the truth - you are being continually lied to by the Corrupt Politicians and the Corrupt Management at UL.

The actions of your Corrupt Politicians have a direct result on SriLankan as does the country's financial situation - I would suggest that this is a relevant topic.

I am in no way responsible for the situation at UL - there are people who are responsible but no action has been taken against them.

There's very little positive about the situation at UL - a lot of naive people on this forum believe everything they are told.

I have just as much right to post my points of view as you do to post yours.

If you are unhappy with what I say you can petition the Moderator to have me banned.

Mr. Ejanson

I've been reading this forum for about 3 years now and 90% of your posts are you complaining and generally saying how bad everything is. Yes the country is in a bad way and there is widespread corruption and deceit. Everyone knows this so you dont need to keep going on about it. If you open your eyes and look around you'll see that good things are actually being done in the country and there are people who are actually willing to work and make things better. People like you are the problem in this country as all you can do is sit and complain about things without ever doing anything about it yourself. Also get your facts right before you complain about things. The countries debt to GDP ratio is around 70% and even if it was 90% this is far lower than some other countries and is a situation that is fixable if managed properly. Also the finances for such projects never come entirely out of the treasury and even if it did the government still has the financial capability to fund it.

Also this is a forum for aviation enthusiasts. Let's keep it that way and take the negativity out of it. If there is a new terminal at BIA let's talk about it instead of downright saying how shit the country is and then saying its never going to happen.

More delusional thinking. Only naive people believe anything coming from the GOSL.

There's no money - it's all been spent or stolen!

Sri Lanka's debt is now estimated to be 90% of GDP.

No money = no terminal.

Plans for the interim terminal abondonned?

BIA new terminal by 2022

Plans for the construction of a second terminal at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) have been renewed in hopes of completing construction by 2022, The Sunday Morning Business learnt

now the negotiation committee is expected to hold discussions with the bidder who quoted 46% higher, in hopes of bringing it down, while negotiating with JICA to relax the conditions of its loan. The negotiations are expected to be wrapped up by the end of October.

Most of the work of the new apron have been completed : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAQ2_OAmKjA

Jaffna products at Palali airport duty free

Priority will be given to Jaffna products in duty free shop stalls in Palali airport, Petroleum Resources and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranatunge said in Jaffna.

Minister Ranatunge made a visit to the Palali airport with a team of 80 officials to see the development project. Later, he had a discussions at the Jaffna Kachcheri with TNA MPs and some other officials. in that discussion he stated that priority must be given with regard to employment opportunities to people from the Northern Province.

The first phase development work of the airport is scheduled to be completed on October 10, while flight services is scheduled to begin on October 15.

Japan grants Rs1.6bn to boost airport security



ECONOMYNEXT – Japan has given a 1 billion yen grant (1.6 billion rupees) to buy equipment to boost airport security and police work in the wake of Easter Sunday attacks.

“The public security in Sri Lanka was threatened by the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks with a huge negative economic impact on the fast growing tourism sector of the Country,” a finance ministry said.

“As an immediate response to the incident,the Government of Japan has agreed to provide Japanese Yen 01 billion, (approximately Rs. 1.6 billion) grant…”

The government of Japan will Surveillance and detections equipment to Sri Lanka Police and Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd, through the ministries of defence and civil aviation.

Sri Lanka’s tourism sector has recovered fast from the bombings, as police and security forces shut down an Islamist group.

Tourism arrivals are expected to reach 2018 levels in September. (Colombo/Sept12/2019)