The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake
Hon. Bimal Rathnayake stated that the Jaffna airport runway will be rehabilitated to handle approximately 130-seat aircraft, with completion expected by mid-2026. He said further expansion for larger aircraft is not currently economically viable, noted that baggage allowances are determined by airlines, and indicated that reduced embarkation fees could be considered. He emphasized developing Jaffna as a stable and viable international airport while avoiding mistakes associated with Mattala.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, as I said, we will rehabilitate the runway to accommodate around 130-seat aircraft and expect completion by mid-next year. Upgrading further to larger aircraft at this time is not economically sound. We can reduce embarkation fees, but baggage allowances are airline decisions. We will develop Jaffna as a stable international airport with a viable plan, without repeating the mistakes of Mattala.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Wednesday, 20 August 2025 ·No. 1756378373069107 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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/lk/speeches/16139
Cite as: The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 August 2025. No. 1756378373069107. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/16139