Daily News Editorial

BIA expansion

05 January 2017

The resurfacing of the sole runway at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA, IATA code CMB) which begins tomorrow was a long overdue measure. It was last repaired in 1986, exactly 30 years ago and in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety regulations, would have been safe for airliners only for one more year.

This measure will result in a temporary loss of revenue for Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited and SriLankan Airlines, in the form of flights and ground handling services for the period of closure – flights will take off and land only from 4.30 p.m. to 8.00 a.m. until April 6. However, we are told that many reputed airlines are literally waiting in the wings to start flights to Colombo once the runway overlay is complete. One prime example is Silk Air of Singapore, which will fly to Colombo for the first time just two days after the project is completed (April 8). This will benefit the airport and the tourism industry in the long run.

This is just one part of the massive US$ 400 million expansion project planned for the BIA in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which has helped the BIA on many earlier occasions. BIA, which was designed for just 6 million passengers annually, is already bursting at the seams with more than 8.5 million passengers. The expansion project that includes new international and domestic terminals, with facilities for the Airbus A380, will double the capacity to 15 million passengers. Furthermore, the terminal, to be opened in 2020, would use solar energy and recycled water from a sewage plant for the flushing of toilets. The project would be developed based on the concept of (an) eco-airport with Japanese advanced technology and know-how.

This is essential in the light of increasing tourist numbers. Just a few years ago, two million tourists a year seemed to be an impossible target but Sri Lanka will be able to surpass that number this year. The new target is four million arrivals per year. There should be more airline seats into Colombo to make this goal a reality. There are two ways in which this can happen – increased frequencies by existing operators (SriLankan, Emirates, Jet etc.) and new flights by all-new/resumed operators (Silk Air, Gulf Air etc.).

The losses incurred by the runway closure could have been mitigated if we had a second runway at the BIA. This has been discussed for decades, but political, logistical and environmental concerns have kept it on the drawing board. However, the Government should explore this possibility even now. Another option is to expand the Ratmalana Airport (IATA code RML) – again, there are similar considerations. Most cities, even in developing countries, are opting to have two or more airports as passenger numbers increase – Dubai, Manila and Bangkok have two, London has four and so does Moscow.

One may ask why Mattala (Hambantota Rajapaksa International Airport, IATA code HRI) does not come into this picture. Indeed, the authorities had requested airlines to use Mattala in the interim period and the response was a resounding ‘no’. It is easy to understand why – the Mattala Airport has a wrong runway orientation, there is no taxiway, bird strikes are possible and connectivity options to Colombo are still minimal. It is an airport built in the middle of nowhere. The money spent on Mattala, a staggering US$ 200 million, could have been spent on expanding Palaly into an international airport. Sri Lanka does need a second airport outside Colombo and Palaly is easily the most promising candidate, followed by Trincomalee.

Now that we are saddled with Mattala, the Government has opted for the next best option of making it viable again. In addition to enticing airlines to fly to Mattala, the authorities seek to promote it as Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) destination as well as a flight training centre. The idea is that Mattala will work as part of logistics chain linking the Hambantota Port and the proposed Hambantota Investment Zone. The extension of the expressway to Mattala and other road transport links will also lend more credibility to Mattala which can also be used as a domestic airport.

Sadly, very little attention has been paid to domestic flights in this country. Many developing countries that are much smaller than Sri Lanka have several domestic airlines offering inexpensive fares. That is a must to spur tourism, because many tourists do not have the time to spend 8-9 hours on the road. Moreover, many Sri Lankans will also opt to fly if the fares are reasonable enough. In neighbouring India, a one-way ticket from Chennai to Bengalaru (roughly the same distance from Colombo to Jaffna) costs around Sri Lankan Rs.10,000. If we have a few short-haul, sub-100 passenger aircraft a good domestic service can be launched after upgrading our airports. The authorities must give serious thought to this too to develop the country’s aviation sector which will receive an overall boost from the massive BIA development drive.