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Mihin Lanka to take over MRIA
Mihin Lanka will take over the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport operations from SriLankan Airlines soon, Civil Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne said yesterday. He said the move would mean that Mihin Lanka, now based at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, would shift to Mattala and undertake the operations including ground handling, maintenance and refuelling among other functions.
‘The objective of this exercise is to make Mihin Lanka a viable entity so that it will have ways of generating income. It will be able to enter into agreements with different airlines through this system,” Mr. Jayaratne said. The minister said a separate Board of Directors would be appointed for Mihin Lanka but under the same Chairman of SriLankan Airlines. The Board of Directors would be responsible for turning the organization into a profit making institution.
Mr. Jayaratne said an independent committee would also be appointed to Mihin Lanka to recommend ways of reducing losses. At present Mihin Lanka has three aircraft and would increase the number of flights following the changes, he said. The Minister said that under the plans to improve Mihin Lanka they hope to introduce additional packages to selected destinations. Mihin Lanka lost more than Rs 2.8 billion in 2012 and last year’s estimated loss rose sky-high to a staggering Rs. 1.4 billion.