The Government may frequently change its tourism tagline, launch digital campaigns, hold promotional events globally, and announce free visa programmes, but the initial experience for travellers to Sri Lanka is marred by an airport with inadequate infrastructure, insufficient capacity to handle tourists, and unhygienic washrooms. First impressions matter, and these early experiences significantly impact perceptions.

This is akin to a restaurant launching a promotion to attract new customers with delicious, high-quality food, but when the customers enter the restaurant, what they first see is a kitchen that is in disarray, with unclean surfaces, insufficient chefs, and outdated equipment. Quite a disappointment, isn’t it? 

The Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) is a similar case, except that disappointment awaits even when departing the country, forcing tourists to forget the natural beauty Sri Lanka offered during their stay, only leaving behind a subpar experience at departure passport control counters.

From unhygienic washrooms to lack of infrastructure

Based on feedback from travellers who recently used the BIA, the airport’s washrooms are a significant drawback. They are met with strong, unpleasant odours upon entry, grimy floors, stained toilets, and overflowing bins.

“The washrooms are stained and some of the lights do not even work. Some do not have hand wash products or even tissues but only a hand dryer,” one traveller from France shared with The Sunday Morning Business.

Unhygienic conditions are the primary complaint from travellers, followed closely by inadequate infrastructure. Duty-free shops without air conditioning, displaying only a limited range of items, with salespeople visibly sweating, create an uninviting atmosphere for tourists. Additionally, there are no entertainment options or places for layover passengers to spend their time, leaving little to explore.

“I had a 10-hour layover at the BIA recently, and when I asked my Sri Lankan friends what I could do at the airport, they all suggested visiting a nearby beach or tourist spot. They said there was virtually nothing to do at the airport other than sleep on a chair or read a book, given that the Wi-Fi is also pretty bad. This is not the case at many airports around the world with significant tourism potential,” a traveller from Germany said. 

“I had two long transits through the Colombo airport on the way to Jakarta from Mumbai. I got an amazing deal, but this meant two long layovers in Colombo, which I initially thought would be alright. 

“However, this feels like an airport which has not been updated for ever. The transit area is just a long corridor along the gate holding areas, with a limited number of steel chairs and hardly any charging points. The F&B options are also very limited. Anything longer than a 1-2 hour layover would be awful,” an Indian traveller wrote online in May this year. 

“Everything here is slow, disorganised, and so old fashioned. It’s like they don’t care about bringing this airport up to date. Lines are long, staff are slow, with inefficiency all round. In the toilet is a sign saying toilets are free, which didn’t stop a cleaner from asking me for money. The room you wait in to board after yet another security check is inadequate – poor ventilation, not enough seats, no water, no toilets, no communication regarding delay, nothing. 

“For a country known for hospitality, this airport has none. I can’t recall a worse airport,” said an Australian traveller.

Regional peers are ahead

Changi Airport in Singapore is widely regarded as one of the world’s leading airports. It boasts four operational terminals with an annual passenger capacity exceeding 82 million. A fifth terminal is under construction, set to increase capacity by an additional 50 million passengers by the mid-2030s. 

Changi operates three runways and hosts over 100 airlines, offering an array of shopping, dining, and entertainment options, including features such as indoor gardens and a swimming pool. 

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, Malaysia features two terminals: the main terminal and KLIA2, dedicated to low-cost carriers. The airport handles an annual passenger capacity of 75 million across its three runways. Serving over 60 airlines, KLIA offers a range of shopping, dining, and leisure options. 

Suvarnabhumi Airport, located in Bangkok, Thailand is a major hub in Southeast Asia. The airport has one main terminal with plans to expand, including the construction of a satellite terminal and a third runway to boost capacity. Currently, Suvarnabhumi handles 45 million passengers annually and operates with two runways, accommodating over 95 airlines. 

Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, India features three terminals. The airport has an annual passenger capacity of over 70 million, supported by three runways. It serves more than 80 airlines, also offering services including shopping, dining, lounges, and medical facilities. 

An airport stuck in a time warp  

Although Sri Lanka has more than one international airport, the BIA is considered its main airport. According to the information available, the BIA was completed in 1967 and then the National Carrier Air Ceylon began operations in the same year. 

Thereafter, in the early 1990s, the position of the runway was changed, paving the way for a taxiway. In November 2005, a pier with eight aerobridges was declared open. Five years later, passenger train services were launched between the airport and the Colombo Secretariat Station.  

The airport has only one runway and six lounges, out of which four are paid lounges. A cargo terminal was opened in 2009 to handle cargo flights. In addition to a domestic terminal which was opened in 2012, the airport currently has only one international terminal, which was opened almost six decades ago, with a capacity to handle six million passengers per annum. It has 12 gates. 

Terminal II fiasco

The construction of the BIA’s Terminal II has been a prolonged saga, stretching on for years. A partially-completed Terminal II with a capacity to handle nine million passengers per annum is now temporarily abandoned in the middle of a busy airport. 

As Sri Lanka places a significant number of its foreign exchange earning eggs in the tourism basket, it felt the need to expand its annual passenger-handling capacity of the airport from six million to 15 million per annum and devised the idea to construct a second international terminal. 

It should be noted that since the BIA commenced its operations, Japan has extended assistance to a few projects, developing the airport in multiple ways. Terminal II was no exception, as Japan extended financial assistance under the BIA Development Project Phase 2 through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to construct a passenger terminal building, elevated roadway, public utility work, remote apron, taxiways, and solid waste disposal system. 

In March 2012, Airport and Aviation Services Sri Lanka Ltd. (AASL) signed a ¥ 28.9 billion loan agreement with JICA, with projects expected to complete by December 2016. However, by March 2016, a second loan of ¥ 45.4 billion was signed for the development of the BIA’s Terminal II, which faced significant delays due to high bid prices from Japanese contractors.

When bids were called, only two Japanese proposals were received, both far exceeding the engineer’s estimate by 46% and 96%, respectively. The Sri Lankan Government was unable to negotiate lower prices, leading to project delays. 

In response, plans for an interim terminal were made, but these too faced legal challenges. Maga Engineering Ltd. sued the Government for awarding the $ 19 million interim terminal project to the China State Construction Engineering Corporation despite Maga scoring the highest in evaluations.

The interim terminal project was abandoned, and the Government resumed negotiations with JICA to lower bid prices for Terminal II. Eventually, Taisei Corporation was selected and commenced work in late 2020. 

However, due to Sri Lanka’s economic crisis and JICA suspending funds following the country’s debt default, Taisei planned its exit by August 2022, having completed only a quarter of the project. JICA agreed to resume funding post-debt restructuring, but the Sri Lankan Government now needs additional financing to cover increased costs.

Response of authorities 

Despite the persistence of such infrastructure issues, on each occasion that The Sunday Morning Business has contacted the relevant authorities, the response has been the same, with claims that they are working on addressing them. However, unfortunately, the issues remain even after years and may even be worsening. 

While Minister of Tourism Harin Fernando was not available for comment, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando said that many of these issues did not come under the SLTDA and that the relevant authorities or institutions managing these places were responsible. However, he added that the SLTDA had constantly been taking up these issues with the relevant authorities and trying to address existing concerns. 

Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, AASL Chairman Athula Galketiya stated that AASL had been refurbishing washrooms at the airport, which meant that some of the washrooms were temporarily closed for usage. 

“If we had Terminal II up and running by now, we would not face these issues. The short- and medium-term solutions we adopted as alternatives too proved futile. Tenders called for this purpose ended up in lawsuits. One cannot say we do not have necessary facilities at the airport. We have been refurbishing washrooms these days.”

While he acknowledged that there were issues with the airport, he added that they had been serving travellers as much as possible despite the situation. He also stated that they were working on the air conditioning issues at the duty-free shops as well and that this matter could be resolved within a month’s time.  

If Sri Lanka is to target and thrive on tourism, it needs to up its infrastructure game at the point of the airport. While the first impression itself disappoints tourists, most of the tourist sites around the country lack proper facilities, with the main issue being the lack of washroom facilities. Even the washrooms that exist are unhygienic or not maintained well. 

For tourists, an experience in another country is a complete package. While a country may have scenic mountains and pristine beaches, the quality of hygiene facilities and proper infrastructure significantly impacts their overall experience. It is time these issues are addressed, since it is unfortunate to witness a country with much potential struggling to achieve high numbers in tourism without addressing these fundamental problems.