Authorities likely to reduce arrival time at BIA
Travellers faced some congestion at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) initially when partial operations began. However over time it has been relatively smooth with music in tow to liven up the mood and travel agents are hoping the number of hours needed to get there could be reduced from five to four.
January is a peak season for tourism traffic and Sri Lanka will be seeing an influx of Chinese holidaymakers by the end of the month.
The Airport and Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka ( AASL) has ensured smooth operations at the airport during the period while the runway overlay work is being carried out at the BIA, travel agents said in an interview with the Business Times on Wednesday.
An area of improvement would be to bring down the five hour period ahead of departure to four, Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators Association ( SLAITO) President Devindre Senaratne told the Business Times.
He noted that authorities were looking at it “positively” and it was possible that there could be some good news in the next few days.
It was pointed out that the AASL was “doing a wonderful job” and the checkin process was taking about 10-15 minutes as a result of which people are having a lot more time on their hands.
With check-in and immigration counters increased added to the Calypso bands that helped to ease the operations, Mr. Senaratne said that the industry associations were working in close coordination with the airport authorities who were relatively flexible.
The industry notes however, that they need to sustain this level of operation in time when the Chinese New Year kicks off on January 28 when an influx of Chinese travellers were expected to the country.
The Chinese holiday season is expected to generate increased visitors to Sri Lanka as a result of which the congestion could increase after this date.
In the meantime, other agents noted that though there was a bit of congestion in the departure lounge due to the five hour limit, efforts by authorities have “worked so far and it has been very manageable”.
Moreover, the arrivals section has been able to claim baggage within a reasonable time frame, it was noted and no travellers were found complaining.
Improvements were also called for in the departure area in a bid to ease the congestion when travellers call over five hours ahead of departure.
Last week Tourism Minister John Amaratunga had also said they were talking to authorities to ensure the time needed to get to the airport could be reduced in future.
The BIA is closed temporarily from 8.30am to 4.30pm until April 6 due to work on the runway costing Rs.7.2 billion.
SriLankan Airlines has cancelled six flights per day and others about four per day during the period and would stop over at Mattala for its four weekly flights to Beijing and Shanghai for approximately three hours during which time passengers would be allowed to go off board and be provided a meal before leaving for its final destination.