• “It took more than three hours to issue visas for the tourists who arrived after a flight of eight hours” 

Russian tourists who land in Mattala are compelled to languish due to delay in issuing on arrival visas for them, an official said.   

Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga who coordinates Russian tourist arrivals said another aircraft of Russia’s Red Wings airline landed in Mattala with 450 tourists on board. He said 65 of them had visas, and others had endured a difficult process when applying for online visa due to lack of immigration counters to clear them.    

He said repeated requests for the deployment of more immigration officers to set up more countries fell on deaf ears.  “We always pinpoint politicians for the current plight of the country. Still, bureaucrats are responsible in a big way. This is a project for the generation of foreign exchange revenue for the country. It took more than three hours to issue visas for the tourists who arrived after a flight of eight hours,” he said.