The re-opening of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) for normal activity as scheduled, on April 6, has been hailed by the tourist industry.
Minister of Tourism Development, Lands and Christian Religious Affairs, John Amaratunga said that the airport reopening will help reverse the negative trend in the number of arrivals witnessed in the past two months.
“We had been building the momentum and watching the numbers grow but unfortunately the airport closure came upon us at the peak of the tourist season and it had its anticipated negative effect. Although we managed to somewhat overcome the difficulties in January, arrivals in February and March were affected,” said Minister Amaratunga who has been personally driving some of the country promotions.
The airport closure during daytime resulted in many flight cancellations and down-scaling of operations by airlines, directly affecting the tourist industry.
“We are happy that the impact was minimal compared to what the industry expected when the closure was first announced.
All credit must go to the airport authorities who were on top of the situation from day one and ensured smooth passenger traffic during the limited operational hours,” the Minister said, adding that the operational efficiency to make the BIA a top-notch international airport “Although we feared the worst, except for a few issues during the first few days, the operation was very smooth.
The fact that the airport reopened on the announced date is indeed commendable,” he said. The airport was closed for operations from 8 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., from January 1 this year. According to travel industry sources, following the airport closure, many tourists especially from the West had opted to reroute to other destinations as they did not wish to spend extended hours in transit in Middle Eastern airports.
“Besides, there was a five-hour advance check-in that was introduced by the local airport authorities following the closure. Although this helped to ease the rush at the counters, tourists were wary of this requirement which came on top of the additional transit times at other airports.
“Although bookings made earlier, last year were largely unaffected, the closure affected new bookings which were reflected in the arrival numbers in February and March,” pointed out Minister Amaratunga.
The BIA can now accommodate all types of modern aircraft including the Airbus A380, the biggest aircraft in commercial operation today. “We are happy that what should have been done 10 years ago has finally been done.
The fact that other than to London, there are no direct flights to any other destinations in Europe, which is our biggest tourism market, is a huge drawback and needs to be addressed urgently,” he said.