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Sunday Dec 15, 2024
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Passengers of the first commercial flight to Mattala
Inauguration of the MRIA
First flight on 18 March 2013 arriving from the USA with 108 passengers landing at Mattala
Upul Dharmadasa with the Captain of the first flight to Mattala
The first commercial flight to Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport which was opened up for commercial operations exactly nine years ago on 18 March 2013, arrived from the USA with 108 passengers. The specialty
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| Upul Dharmadasa |
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| Ambassador in US in 2013 Jaliya Wickramasuiya |
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| AASL Chairman in 2013 Prasanna Wickramasuriya |
about this flight was it carried Sri Lankan/American dual citizens from various parts of the USA including, professionals, businessmen and diplomats on board an A340-200 aircraft arriving from various parts of the USA.
The first commercial flight to Mattala originated from eight Emirates gateways in the USA to Dubai, finally connecting to a SriLankan Airlines flight connecting via Dubai.
The necessity of having another international airport emerged as vital by the beginning of the 21st century and subsequently a new plot of land in the Mattala area had been identified as feasible. Then the construction of the second international airport for Sri Lanka commenced at Mattala in November 2009. The chief organiser of this historic flight was Upul Dharmadasa, the present Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. In this interview he recalls the effort in connection with the maiden flight as well as future prospects for MRIA. Following are excerpts:
Q: Can you please explain to us the importance of this historic flight organised by you?
Upul Dharmadasa: We as the Sri Lankans living in the USA, we wanted to make our mark to honour this event because generally opening up a new airport is a very rare occasion. For a country like ours, this could be the only opportunity we get to see in our entire lifespan. Addition of an international airport to any country is a very significant event as it not only enhances the value but gives additional benefit to the country concerned as well. Therefore, we were determined that we should arrive at Mattala from the first flight operating as its first commercial flight.
Q: Proud members of this first flight were those who are living in various parts of the USA. There could be tremendous work behind arranging this flight. Can you please explain more about your effort?
Absolutely. Those who participated in this flight were living across USA in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Fort Worth, Chicago and Houston from various states of the USA. They all gathered in Dubai, UAE on 16 March 2013 to be a part of this historic event as we thought it would be convenient to initiate this important historic flight from Dubai, UAE. The next step of the plan was to land the flight at Mattala International Airport at the scheduled time subsequent to the inauguration ceremony.
Our team managed to make the reservation of Airbus A340-200 aircraft belonging to our national carrier, SriLankan Airlines and then took off from Dubai to Mattala. It is more satisfying and I feel content seeing the present level of the second international airport of Sri Lanka has reached, expanding its wings across various spectrums and making significant contributions to the economy of our mother country.
Q: How significant was the Mattala airport as the second international airport during the pandemic of COVID-19?
It was a heartfelt moment of bringing back the stranded Sri Lankan from Wuhan, China during the very beginning period of the COVID-19 pandemic. This flight landed at Mattala airport. After that flight, there were numerous flights operated to Mattala airport carrying stranded Sri Lankans from almost all corners of the world while adhering to all of the COVID-19 national guidelines. Mattala airport was used dedicatedly for this task for a considerable time taking the responsibility of a nation.
We also cannot forget the fact that the usage of this airport as an intermediary point of crew transferring to international vessels operating on the International Vessel Line located a few miles away from the coastline of the airport. We were able to establish the Mattala airport as one of the most appropriate intermediary points to change the crew members of international vessels. With all these efforts we were able to connect the fields of sea transportation and air transportation. First loop of this magnificent effort is the Mattala International Airport.
Q: As a veteran having international experience and exposure of nearly five decades, what kind of strategic actions do you wish to take to develop the airport further?
Many initiatives have already been taken to move the airport forward to the next level. Many more flexible procedures and convenient systems have been adopted by the airport and the Government especially for the betterment of the passengers and the flights arriving at Mattala airport. It has been already decided to continue this atmosphere for the next two years. Many new airlines have already carried out initial discussions to make Mattala as one of the destinations of their network.
Mattala airport can be further developed as a crew transferring point. Since the highway land transport network has already been interconnected with the Mattala airport, I believe that the tourists and commercial flights could be attracted very easily. And it is possible to induce the Mattala airport as an export connecting point of agriculture and other export crops. I received great support from former ambassador of USA Jaliya Wickramasuriya, the then Ambassador to USA, Dilan Ariyawnsa, General Sales Agent of SriLankan Airlines USA and Canada, and then Chairman of Airport and Aviation Services Ltd., when I organised this flight nine years ago. Jaliya Wickramasuriya supported in making diplomatic work while Dilan Ariyawnsa looked after arranging the flight.
