By unusuma.lk on (LK time)
Sri Lanka’s Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) celebrates its 12th anniversary today, but the underused facility continues to face financial challenges, renewing calls for a strategic overhaul.
Opened on March 18, 2013, MRIA was designed to be the country’s second international hub. However, despite its modern amenities, it has failed to attract steady airline operations, with major carriers withdrawing, due to low passenger demand.
Former Civil Aviation Authority Chairman Upul Dharmadasa, who oversaw MRIA’s first commercial flight landing, said the airport still has opportunities, if repositioned effectively.
“Having a secondary airport is an advantage—it helps reduce insurance costs for airlines, including SriLankan Airlines,” Dharmadasa said, adding that MRIA could be converted into a maintenance and cargo hub to boost revenue.
Efforts to revitalise the loss-making airport have included a potential ownership takeover.
Despite these efforts, the National Audit Office disclosed in January that US $ 247.7 million (Rs.36.56 billion) spent on MRIA’s construction had not been properly utilised. The airport posted an operating loss of Rs.2.12 billion (US $ 6.8 million) in 2023, with revenue at just Rs.288 million.
MRIA, which was built to handle one million passengers annually, processed just 190,750 passengers over the past six years, with only 2,182 flights operating between 2018 and 2023. The cumulative net loss after tax for this period stood at Rs.38.49 billion (US $ 123 million).
