Batticaloa International Airport மட்டக்களப்பு சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம் මඩකලපුව ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public / military | ||||||||||
| Owner | Government of Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
| Operator | Airport and Aviation Services | ||||||||||
| Serves | Batticaloa | ||||||||||
| Location | Puthunagar,Sri Lanka | ||||||||||
| Opened | 17 November 1958 (1958-11-17) | ||||||||||
| Commander | W. K. A. S. W. Vithana | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 3 m / 10 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 07°42′19″N081°40′40″E / 7.70528°N 81.67778°E /7.70528; 81.67778 | ||||||||||
| Website | Official website | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  BTC  BTC | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Batticaloa International Airport (Tamil:மட்டக்களப்பு சர்வதேச விமான நிலையம்,romanized: Maṭṭakkaḷappu Carvatēca Vimāṉa Nilaiyam,Sinhala:මඩකලපුව ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ,romanized: Maḍakalapuva Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa) (IATA:BTC,ICAO:VCCB), formerly known asBatticaloa Airport, is anairport serving easternSri Lanka. It is also amilitary airbase known asSri Lanka Air Force Batticaloa orSLAF Batticaloa.[1] The airport is located in the village of Puthunagar on the island of Thimilathiu, 1nautical mile (2 km; 1 mi) south-west of the city ofBatticaloa.[2][3][4] It resides at an elevation of 3 m (10 ft) and has one runway designated 06/24 with abitumen surface measuring 1,560 by 46 metres (5,118 ft × 151 ft).[2][5]
Established in 1958 as adomestic airport, the airport ceased functioning in 1979 following the collapse ofAir Ceylon. The site was taken over by theSri Lanka Air Force during theSri Lankan Civil War.Domestic flights resumed in 2018 and in 2019 it became Sri Lanka's fifth international airport.
Batticaloa Airport was originally opened on 17 November 1958 and was administered byDepartment of Civil Aviation.[6][7][8] About a decade laterAir Ceylon started operatingdomestic flights between Batticaloa andRatmalana viaGal Oya Airport using a 29-seatNord Aviation aircraft.[6] The 75 minute flight between Batticaloa and Ratmalana became popular, particularly with government employees who could userailway warrants for three domestic flights each year.[6][7] Following the failure of Air Ceylon in August 1979 all domestic flights from the airport ceased.[6]
On 27 March 1983 anair force base on the site was openedM. A. Abdul Majeed, Deputy Minister of Post and Telecommunication and District Minister for Batticaloa.[9] In 1985 around 300 families were forcibly evicted from their homes in order to expand the airport.[10][11] Usingemergency regulations, officials ordered residents living within a 500m radius of the runway to leave their residences.[12] 230 homes, three temples and two schools in the villages of Puduvur and Valai Iravu were affected.[12] Evicted residents claimed that officials had threatened tobulldoze their homes if they did not leave.[10] The evicted families were each given 20perches of land outside Batticaloa but the compensation for loss of their homes, which officials had promised would be paid within six months, took more than a decade to be paid and was much lower than originally promised.[10][11] The airport was not expanded, nor was the runway extended, insteadbarbed wire fencing was erected around the airport and the area declared a "security zone".[10][12]
Following the end of thecivil war, construction of a domestic airport at the base began in September 2012.[13][14] TheRoad Development Authority was given the task of extending the runway from 1,070 metres to 1,560 metres, suitable for 60-seater aircraft, but in November 2015, with 60% of the work completed, the renovation came to a stop.[6][14][15] In December 2015 the government ordered the air force to complete the extension of the runway.[6][15] The location of the airport, a narrowpeninsula surrounded on three sides byBatticaloa Lagoon, limited the length of the runway.[6] A newterminal building was also built by the air force.[13][14] The airport came under the jurisdiction of theCivil Aviation Authority from 31 May 2016 and thestate-owned Airport and Aviation Services was appointed operator of the civilian side of the airport.[6][16] The airport covers an area of 145 ha (359acres) out of which the air force occupies just over half - 76 ha (188acres).[6]
The renovated airport was opened byPresidentMaithripala Sirisena on 10 July 2016 but as it did not conform to civil aviation requirements there was no civilian flights from the airport.[6][15] Civilian operations eventually commenced on 25 March 2018 withCinnamon Air operating two daily flights.[17][18] The renovations costRs 1.4 billion.[6][19]
AsJaffna Airport was being redeveloped by theGovernment of India, civil society groups fromeastern Sri Lanka complained to the Indianconsul inJaffna that Indian development work was only focussed on the north and ignored the east.[20] In 2019 the Indian government agreed to redevelop Batticaloa Airport and the Sri Lankan government agreed to make it an international airport as well.[20][21]Cabinet approval was given in September 2019 to make the airport a regional airport, allowinginternational flights but notlong-haul flights.[22][23] In early October 2019 the airport was made a regional airport and renamed Batticaloa International Airport.[3][24][25][26]
The airport is expected to be ready for international flights by January 2020.[22]Alliance Air andFitsAir have expressed interest in operating international flights from Batticaloa.[27][28]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Air Senok | Charter:Colombo–Ratmalana[citation needed] |
| Cinnamon Air | Colombo–Bandaranaike[citation needed] |
| FitsAir | Charter:Colombo–Ratmalana[citation needed] |
| Helitours | Charter:Colombo–Ratmalana[citation needed] |
| Serendib Airways | Charter:Colombo–Ratmalana[citation needed] |