Sri Lanka will this month open a new international airport surrounded by wildlife sanctuaries.
The airport was constructed with a US$210 million loan from China.
The Mattala Hambantota International Airport is a pet project of president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was born in Hambantota. He says the airport will boost tourism in the area.
It is hoped the airport will help to ease some of the capacity pressures facing Colombo’s congested Bandaranaike International Airport.
Sri Lanka’s national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, has confirmed it will operate flights to Bangkok, Beijing, Male, Riyadh and Shanghai from Hambantota International but all within an itinerary that begins or ends in Colombo.
For outbound and inbound passengers this will involve a 35-minute flight either from Colombo to Hambantota or in the other direction.
TravelMole Comment: The time-consuming Hambantota stopover is unlikely to endear SLA to its passengers – but as a pet project of the president, no doubt the new airport will receive the support of the national carrier.
