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India, Maldives accused of reneging on commitments to Palaly, Ratmalana

19 Oct, 2022

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India and the Maldives have been accused of reneging on commitments made to send flights to the Palaly and Ratmalana airports.

Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that India had made a commitment to send flights to the Jaffna airport just before it was converted into an international airport.

The Minister said that after India had made a commitment on sending flights to Jaffna, the Sri Lankan Government had converted the airport at Palaly into an international airport.

However, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told Parliament that India had suspended flights to Jaffna owing to various reasons.

He said that India has now assured that some flights will arrive at the Jaffna International Airport in Palaly at the end of this month.

The Minister also said that India has allocated funds to further develop the Jaffna International Airport.

He said the funds will be used to extend the runway at the airport.

With regards to the Ratmalana airport, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that huge sums of money had been used to develop the airport.

He said the Maldives had made a commitment to send flights to the Ratmalana airport.

However, he said after the Ratmalana airport was opened for international flights the Maldives had a rethink of its commitment.

As a result, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said that the Ratmalana airport will be used by flying schools and private jets. (Colombo Gazette)

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