By Imsha IqbalThe Sri Lankan Government is seeking to attract aviation companies to the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) which was once dubbed as the “world’s emptiest airport”, by providing discounts and tax relaxation.The airport immigration tax is anticipated to be released from the date of inauguration of the operations by the international aviation companies for a period of two years, as in terms of encouraging the aviation companies to reach Mattala Airport. Further discounts are to be awarded to the aviation companies on landing and parking charges for the airplanes for the next four years. These offers were announced by the Government despite the prevailing pandemic, where aviation restrictions are still in place in many countries.Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted the approval for these discounts and tax relaxations which was furnished by the Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga.MRIA is the second international airport in Sri Lanka which was formerly known as Hambantota International Airport (HIA), while the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) serves as the first in the country. MRIA is located in the Southern Province of the country and it was inaugurated on 18 March 2013.It is expected to contribute to international trade, tourism, vocational training, as well as employment on the island. The mentioned airport is completed to serve one million passengers per year. It is also estimated to handle 45,000 MT of air cargo with a total of 800 hectares of land used for its establishment. Nevertheless, it is expected to expand upto 2,000 hectares at later stages.However, it was earlier reported as the “world’s emptiest airport” by the Forbes magazine.
