MRIA celebrating nine years since welcoming first commercial flight

By Nilantha Tennakoon 
The Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) was opened up for commercial operations exactly 9 years ago on 18th March 2013, with the arrival of the first commercial flight from USA with 108 passengers. 

The specialty about this flight was that it carried Sri Lankan/American dual citizens from various parts of USA including, professionals, businessman and diplomats on board in the A340-200 aircraft. 

This first commercial flight to Mattala was originated from 8 Emirates gateways in the USA to Dubai, finally connecting to a SriLankan Airlines flight connecting 
via Dubai. 

The necessity of having another international airport emerged as vital by the beginning of the 21st century and subsequently a new plot of land in the Mattala area had been identified as feasible. Then the construction of the second international airport for Sri Lanka commenced at Mattala in November 2009. This was the brief story of getting our country the second international airport on 18th March 2013, nine years ago.

The chief organizer of this historic flight was Upul Dharmadasa, the present Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka. Following are excerpts from an interview with Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka Chairman Upul Dharmadasa.

Can you explain us the importance of this historic flight organized by you?
We as Sri Lankans living in USA, wanted to make our mark to honour this event because generally an opening up a new airport is a very rare occasion. For a country like ours, this could be the only opportunity we get to see in our entire life time.

The addition of an international airport to any country is a very significant event as it not only enhances the value but also gives additional benefits to the country concerned as well. Therefore, we were determined that we should arrive to Mattala from the first flight operating as its first 
commercial flight.

Proud members of this first flight were those who are living in various parts of USA. There could be tremendous work behind arranging this flight. Can you please explain us more about your effort?

Absolutely. Those who joined this flight were living across USA like cities New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Fort Worth, Chicago and Houston. They all gathered in Dubai on 16th March 2013 to be a part of this historic event as we thought it would be convenient to initiate this important historic flight from Dubai, UAE. The next step of the plan was to land the flight at Mattala International Airport at the scheduled time subsequent to the inauguration ceremony. 

Our team managed to make the reservation of Airbus A340-200 aircraft that belongs to our national carrier, SriLankan Airlines and then took off from Dubai to Mattala. It is more satisfying and feel contented seeing the present level of the second international airport of Sri Lanka that has expanded its wings across various spectrums and making significant contribution to the economy of our mother country. 

 We all were able to realize how significant the Mattala airport was as the second international airport during the Covid-19 pandemic. Can you elaborate on it?
It was a heartfelt moment of bringing back the stranded Sri Lankan from Wuhan, China during the very early period of the pandemic. This flight landed at Mattala airport. After that flight, there were numerous flights that operated to Mattala airport carrying stranded Sri Lankans from almost all corners of the world while adhering to all Covid-19 national guidelines. Actually Mattala airport was used dedicatedly for this task for a considerable time period 
taking the responsibility of the nation.

Not only that, we cannot forget the fact that the usage of this airport as an intermediary point of crew transferring to international vessels operating on the international vessel lines located few miles away the coastal line of the airport. We were able to establish the Mattala airport as one of the most appropriate intermediary point to change crew members of international vessels. With all these efforts we were able to connect the fields of sea transportation and air transportation. First loop of this magnificent effort is the Mattala International Airport. 

As a veteran with international experience and exposure of nearly five decades, what kind of strategic actions you wish to take to develop the airport further?
Many initiatives have already been taken to push the airport to the next level. Many more flexible procedures and convenient systems have been adopted by the airport especially by the government for the betterment of passengers and the flights arriving at Mattala airport. It has been already decided to continue this atmosphere for next two years. Many new airlines have had already discussed to make Mattala as one of the destinations of their network. 

Mattala airport can be further developed as a crew transferring point. Since the highway land transport network has already been interconnected with the Mattala airport, I believe tourists and commercial flights could be attracted very easily. And it is possible to induce the Mattala airport as an export connecting point of agriculture and other export crops. 

I need to mention the support I received from former Sri Lankan ambassador of USA, Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Dilan Ariyawnsa, General Sales Agent of SriLankan Airlines USA and Canada, and then Chairman of Airport & Aviation Services Ltd when I organized this flight nine years ago.  Jaliya Wickramasuriya extended his support concerning the diplomatic work while Dilan Ariyawnsa took care of flight arrangements.