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Post-Easter bombings’ restrictions clip private aviators’ wings
Private Helicopter Operators (PHO) are significantly affected by impractical security restrictions in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday bombings, with flying hours down almost 70% last month, a group of aviators told the Sunday Times. Some of the operators are finding it difficult to sustain operations due to the restrictions.
The claims come in the backdrop of Government efforts to ensure tourists that Sri Lanka is safe and open for business. They are now seeking a meeting with aviation regulators and security establishments to highlight the issues and ask for more consultation on the restrictions imposed.
Sri Lanka has 6 PHOs at present.
The PHOs who wished to remain unnamed, pointed out that, while some of the restrictions imposed after the Easter Sunday bombings have been lifted, there are other significant restrictions that have not been lifted. The PHOs claim that, with tourist arrivals picking up, they are unable to fly clients to some destinations due to restrictions.
The Sunday Times has seen an e-mail sent to aviation operators by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) Director General H.M.C. Nimalsiri, dated June 20, 2019, which states,
I wish to inform all the domestic Private operators, Flying Schools and Leisure operators, that the temporary restrictions imposed on the operation of domestic civil flights following the 21st April Easter Sunday disaster, have been removed and the freedom of flying have been restored (as of the situation that prevailed before 21st April 2019) with immediate effect.” However, the PHOs claim this is incorrect. Attempts to reach Mr Nimalsiri for comments failed.
One complaint is that post Easter bombings restrictions require that Police Constables (PC) be present to check passengers at each pick-up point outside aerodromes. The presence of a woman PCs is required, if female passengers are to be checked. The PHOs complain that many of the police stations are reluctant to send PCs and the few WPCs in service, to various pick-up points. “They often complain they can’t travel to far off locations, and ask us to provide transport to the landing zone and back,” one of the aviators claimed. They complained that, however, tourists, who travel via land, are not subjected to such body and baggage checks, prior to boarding their coaches. “If we fly clients to a hotel and have to stay overnight, we have do submit police-approved paper work from that site, to the CAASL and the Air Force. Sometimes the pilots have to visit police stations to get an OIC’s signature on the documents,” one aviator claimed. “Why can’t the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF), CAASL or the Ministry of Defence do a threat assessment and streamline these processes?” they asked.
They pointed out that high spending tourists who hire helicopters for sightseeing or to hop from one location to another, do so to save time. “If a tourist wants to fly to Kandy, from a hotel in Yala, and the nearest police station claims its too far, for them to send a PC and WPC to perform their duties, we can’t fly those tourists, and they are perplexed as to whats going on,” he explained. The aviators point out that an hour’s sightseeing or flying between two locations, brings in around US$ 1,500 to Sri Lanka’s economy.
Furthermore, the Sunday Times has learned that Sri Lanka’s only privately owned and regulator authorised heliport situated in Welisara, is now unused, as security regulations compel them to park their helicopters at Ratmalana Airport. However, security aside, the PHOs are being charged almost Rs 600,000 a month, by the Airport &Aviation Services Ltd. A senior Air Force officer told the Sunday Times that a security audit had been done on the Welisara Heliport after the bombings, but the CAASL was slow to respond to the findings. The Welisara Heliport, built at a cost of over Rs 200 million, is owned by IWS Holdings Pvt Ltd. The management of IWS Aviation was not reachable for comment. “The Government calling for tourism promotion and, at the same time, asking PHOs to pay to park their aircraft on a State airfield, after having dislodged them from a purpose built and authorized heliport, is not helping the tourism sector to recover,” a helicopter pilot opined. “When the original security assessments were made by the CAASL or the SLAF, didn’t they factor in the possibility of domestic terrorism?” he asked.
The aviators also point out that, the lack of landing zones in the heart of the Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD), makes it difficult for them to pick up passengers from major hotels along Galle Road. There is a ‘No-Fly’ Zone over Colombo’s CBD. Landing Zones for private helicopters and approach paths to it are not viable at present, given the presence of a High Security Zone, several key foreign diplomatic missions and key Government offices, the SLAF said in reply to a query by the Sunday Times.
The balance between practical security, deregulation and streamlining of clearance processes, is the need of the hour, for the growth of the general aviation and tourism industry.