Cinnamon Air and IWS Aviation to operate scheduled domestic air services

Cinnamon Air and IWS Aviation have been granted permits to operate scheduled domestic air services, following a joint call for Expression of Interests (EOIS) by the National Agency for Public and Private Partnerships (NAPPP), the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), H. M. Nimalsiri, told Mirror Business.

NAPPP and DGCA have had received five investment proposals from Saffron Aviation, which runs Cinnamon Air, international investment company FITS Aviation, SJ Global Investments, California-based investment company Lotus Air and IWS Aviation.

However, he noted that permits were granted on a first come first serve basis where IWS Aviation came first followed by Cinnamon Air, as the Cabinet wanted to expedite the bidding process.

“IWS has agreed to induct Bombardier Q300 Dash 8 aircraft which can carry about 50 passengers. In addition, they will have one aircraft on standby, in case the aircraft become unusable, they will bring in the standby aircraft,” Nimalsiri noted.

“Cinnamon Air will increase their frequencies deploying more aircrafts. Cinnamon is currently operating four aircrafts. However, they are prepared to bring more, if the demand is there” he added.

Nimalsiri noted that the scheduled domestic carriers would be initially flying to Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Palali domestic airports.

In addition, he said Civil Aviation Authority is considering in making Koggala, Sigiriya and Higurakgoda domestic airports, which currently operate under Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF).

Nimalsiri revealed that a one-way ticket from BIA to Tricomalee would be priced around US$100. The government is planning to carry out a major overhaul in the Sri Lanka domestic aviation sector to develop the industry which had been largely neglected as the domestic air-connectivity has become crucial for the island’s thriving tourism industry.

Nimalsiri also noted that a separate new terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) would be constructed to accommodate these flights.

Initially, a portion of Apron D at BIA would be designated to handling domestic flights.

“A part of Apron D will be designated for handling if domestic flights, because, in an international airport , we cannot have different charges for local and international flights, hence we can’t be discriminative, therefore we identified one area to be used for domestic purposes and charging domestic fees and charges,” he elaborated.