Govt. to pay extra attention to make MRIA active: Tourism Min.

The government will pay extra attention towards developing Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota, so that it is transformed into an active airport.

Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said that measures would be taken to expand the activities of the airport, so that it can welcome more international airlines and tourists.

Discussions are being held with several international airlines to land at MRIA and Ranatunga expressed confidence in several new operations commencing soon.

A total of 722 aircraft landed at MRIA in 2021, bringing in 32,957 passengers.

Of the total incoming aircraft, 584 were international flights while 138 were domestic flights.

From January 1 to February 3, this year, a total of 2,919 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka via MRIA.

According to the Tourism Ministry, a total of 2,919 tourists arrived in the country from January 1 to February 3, this year.

In a statement to the media, Ranatunga attributed the lacklustre performance of the Mattala airport to the poor attention given by the previous government in promoting the facility as an international airport.

He alleged that instead of promoting the airport, steps were taken to make it inactive.