Govt. to make Colombo International Airport dedicated for private jets

The Government is making plans to designate the Colombo International Airport, Ratmalana (CIAR) for private aircraft in the future.

“Ratmalana Airport will be used as a dedicated airport for private jets, as well as flying schools,” Ports and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told the Parliament yesterday.  Noting that a large sum of money was spent on converting the Rathmalana Airport into an international airport before he took office, the Minister said that there are concerns surrounding the modus operandi followed in the upgrades.

The Minister said the Maldivian Airline had expressed their interest to fly passengers to Ratmalana but following the opening of the airport, the Maldivian Airline was reluctant to operate, citing the situation in the country that prevailed.

CIAR is the first international airport in Sri Lanka, established in 1935. It is managed and operated by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL).

Ever since its establishment, the airport has been playing a pivotal role in the aviation industry of Sri Lanka as an exclusive gateway to Colombo, the Commercial Capital of Sri Lanka, and has served as the domestic aviation hub of the country.

In 2012, AASL declared Colombo Airport Ratmalana as a city airport allowing it to accommodate international corporate jet operations in addition to its main forte of domestic schedule/charter flights and the main training domain for the whole arrays of aviators ranging from pilots, flight dispatchers to aeronautical engineers.