On October, 17, the President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are expected to held the opening ceremony for the Jaffna International Airport, which was earlier used only for domestic flights and known as the Palaly Airport. The former air force base, the airport is located in the Northern Province, some 16 km north of the city of Jaffna. The airport will handle flights to several Indian destinations, possibly Chennai, Madurai, New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Varanasi; flights to Male are also considered.
Ratmalana airport, 15 km south of Colombo, which now serves domestic flights to/from Colombo, will receive the international status, too. It was the country's first and only international airport until 1967 when Bandaranaike International airport was innaugurated. While Ratmalana does serve small international commercial flights, the desination network is expected to be expanded to ease conjestion in Colombo's main airport.
Finally, Batticaloa airport on the island of Thimilathiu, Eastern Sri Lanka, will be opened for international flights, too.
Three Domestic Airports in Sri Lanka Become International
News in Asia
Sri Lanka to upgrade three domestic airports giving them international status. With these three newcomers, the total number of international airports in the country reaches five.