Flights from Jaffna International Airport will resume from the end of this month Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said in Parliament this week.
Responding to a question raised by opposition MP Buddhika Pathirana, Silva said the airport will be further developed with the financial assistance of India.
“We developed the Jaffna airport to international airport standards. We obtained the necessary evidence through the Air Services Authority. Then we called Airline Services of India. Even though they had agreed to it earlier, after opening the airport, the flights did not arrive. It could be due to technical issues on their side. Actions related to it are delayed. However, some flights are said to arrive by the end of this month."
"We expect to bring more Indian tourists as possible", he added.
Last month, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP M A Sumanthiran, reportedly said that it was high airport taxes that caused the flights to stop running.
“When the airport was opened, there were flights from Madras, then due to Covid all flights were suspended. Now, this has not resumed yet, and even when it resumes the cost of the airfare is prohibitive. The reason for that is that the airport taxes are so high that people will not be able to afford it,” he said.
The airport, previously known as Palaly airport, is currently occupied by the Sri Lankan military which has used the region as an air force base for its fleets of jets that were extensively used in bombing raids throughout the armed conflict. Though the military will allow the reopening of the airport for commercial flights, the area remains under a High Security Zone occupied by the military.
