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Ceremonial welcome for maiden landing of Emirates A380 on ‘upgraded’ runway
View(s):In what the Government hailed as an aviation milestone for the country, an Emirates A380 aircraft landed on the newly resurfaced and upgraded runway of the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Monday for a special one-off flight.
The aircraft, Flight EK654 from Dubai, touched down on Monday morning carrying 524 passengers.The aircraft was given a ceremonial welcome on arrival.
Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva stated that Emirates had agreed to initially operate an A380 flight monthly from Dubai to Colombo.
“I believe this will bring more tourists into our country and help develop our tourist industry as well. He added the Government was moving ahead with plans to turn the Mattala International Airport into a popular airport and Cabinet approval was recently obtained to study a proposal brought by Indian investors in this regard.
He said that airport was resurfaced after 30 years at a cost of Rs.7,200 million, and some claimed it had been a waste of money as it had not been upgraded to accommodate large aircraft like the A380. “They said an A380 can’t land at the BIA, but they have all been proved wrong today,” he stressed.
He said that even in a reputed international airport like Sydney the width of one runway is only 45 metres, but large aircraft land on it. “None of these pundits speak about that. This shows just how petty some people can be when this country is moving forward.”
