JAFFNA : With the local aviation industry witnessing significant recovery in Sri Lanka, the Jaffna International Airport, (JIA) a silent contribution towards this growth celebrated its 5th anniversary last week.
“When compared to 2023 figures with 2024 (Up-to September 30) international passenger movement has increased approximately by 20% while there has been a growth of 22% in international aircraft movements. Cargo movements (Metric Tons) have recorded a growth of 25% during the same period.
The history of the Palaly airfield runs into the 1947 December when the inaugural flight by Air Ceylon was conducted from Ratmalana to Madras via Palaly. After a closure for a long period, JIA was opened for international operations in October, 2019 as the fourth international airport adding a new chapter to the aviation industry.
Today JIA, managed by Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka Pvt Limited. (AASL) is served with two scheduled flight operations by Alliance Air and Indigo (from September 2024) connecting Jaffna and Chennai.
JIA has seen exponential growth in both international and domestic passenger movements and in 2019, the number of passengers at JIA was 1,733, which grew to 2,708 in 2020.
Operations were halted due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, but in December 2022, 594 passengers arrived within a month of resuming operations. Since then, operations have continued uninterrupted. Alliance Air commenced operations with four flights per week and transitioned to daily flights starting June 7, 2023. By 2023, passenger movement had increased to 28,396. As of September 30, 2024, passenger movement stood at 29,583.
By the end of September 2024, JIA had handled 29,583 international passenger movements and 586 aircraft movements successfully. Since its commencement in 2019, JIA has handled over 60,000 passengers. The daily passenger movement at the airport has increased over 200.
The development of the airport has immensely benefited the Population of the Northern region and has boosted the development of the service industry in the region which was primarily driven by agriculture and industrial sectors. The addition of new star-class hotels, the development of modes of transport, together with the unique culture of Jaffna have boosted the domestic and international tourism industry. The service sector too saw a huge development with the demanded new skills and competencies of the youth in Jaffna to work in the aviation, tourism, and hospitality industries significantly contributing to the uplift of the service sector for the GDP of the country.