Sri Lanka is to reopen its domestic skies to commercial flights, and has begun accepting applications from operators. Officials are meanwhile assessing the state of airports on the war-ravaged island.
Since announcing domestic flights would be allowed to resume, 10 firms have applied to operate services, says the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) director general, Lal Liyanarachi (Flight International, 19-25 February).
In addition, Air Lanka International, Expo Aviation and Sri Lankan are already approved to operate domestic flights. Sri Lankan has sent a team to assess Jaffna's Palali airport. Flights could be operating between the northern city of Jaffna and Colombo's domestic airport at Ratmalana next month, says Liyanarachi. Services could transfer to Colombo's international airport in June when a domestic terminal will be ready.
Domestic flights ended in 1998 after a Lion Airlines aircraft crashed into the sea off the coast of a Tamil Tiger guerilla-held area. Officially the crash is unsolved, but evidence suggests the aircraft was shot down after leaving safe air corridors.
Source: Flight International
