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Lanka attracts record number of corporate private jets
View(s):The number of international corporate jets visiting Sri Lanka has risen sharply last year, with 569 recorded arrivals and the total is expected to be higher when additional statistics are collated. There were 326 international corporate jet movements into the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) up to September 2017 alone; 126 into Ratmalana airport up to December 15; and as many as 117 into Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) up to September 2017.
In comparison, there were 416 private plane arrivals at all three airports in 2016; 450 in 2015; and 492 in 2014. The number of arrivals in 2013 was 372 — the lowest in five years. While a majority of movements during all five years took place at BIA, airport authorities are taking steps to divert such traffic to other airports, particularly Ratmalana.
The number of arrivals will be much higher once the November and December data for BIA and MRIA are added, said Johanne Jayaratne, Executive Director of Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd (AASL). The more common airplanes observed on the tarmac are the Gulfstream and Cessna. Corporate jets can carry between five and 18 people and are owned or leased by the world’s “high net worth club”.
Increasingly, some high net worth individuals are frequenting Sri Lanka to scope out business opportunities, said Mr Jayaratne, who was once a pilot of international corporate jets. “Around 70 percent were business-oriented and the rest are leisure travellers.” All were wooed by the convenience: no tickets, no hassle of commercial flights, no waiting in line and no schedules.
“It is a beautiful way to fly,” Mr Jayaratne said, declining to name any of the visitors. “They do it for convenience, for anonymity and because it’s time-saving. And Sri Lanka has a huge potential market in this area.” But the country must make several advances to accommodate future growth. For instance, international corporate jets do not typically land at primary airports like BIA. They prefer smaller airports that they can move through faster.
For this reason, some of the recent arrivals were directed to Ratmalana airport. This is reflected in the larger numbers there this year; in 2016, only 25 corporate jets landed there while the previous year there were just eight. Ratmalana–with its quaintness and history–will be an ideal corporate hub, Mr Jayaratne said. “The idea is to develop it so that the first choice of anyone coming here on a private jet would be to fly into Ratmalana. It suits the bill of a secondary airport very well. And people love it because they don’t see airports like that anymore.”
“I want to invite a world class fixed base operator (FBO) to come and establish ita business here, to service its aircraft and clients,” Mr Jayaratne explained. FBOs are private jet terminals at airports. According to information online, when private jet customers come to the airport, they do not use the main airport facilities, shared with airline passengers. Instead they head for the FBO. In some cases, it is a small lounge within a general airport terminal. In others, a large purpose-built facility, set apart from the main airport buildings, offering a range of services for private jet customers, aircraft and crew.
Passengers still have to uphold the laws of the country they land in– including immigration, customs, and quarantine. But they are offered a personalised service. They sit in their terminal while the authorities go through the procedures.