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Jaffna’s fast-tracked airport nearly fell victim to Easter Sunday attack
As the first passenger jet touched down at Jaffna International Airport, bringing hope of a revival to the north’s war-battered economy, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe revealed that the April 21 Easter attack nearly derailed the airport’s fast-tracked inauguration.
The first passenger jet that touched down at the Jaffna International Airport
“After the Easter Sunday attacks [in April], there were some at the Cabinet who raised concerns about the need for this airport and going ahead with this project but Minister Ranatunga was determined to implement this as scheduled within a limited time-frame,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said at the opening of the new airport on Thursday.
This, the Prime Minister commented, was another world record by the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Mr. Arjuna Ranatunga who, when captain of the Sri Lanka cricket team, brought the World Cup trophy home in 1996.
The leader of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), Mavai Senathirajah, who hails from Maviddapuram, described the airport’s inauguration as a historic day and praised the government for making extraordinary efforts to fast-track the project.
At the same time, Mr. Senathirajah asked the Prime Minister and President Maithripala Sirisena, who was also present, to resolve the ethnic conflict “with a similar approach taken to make this airport a reality”.
“Today is a very momentous and happy day in our people’s lives after witnessing tragedies in the past,” the ITAK leader said.
“It was decided to develop this airport in 2016 when Premier Wickremesinghe visited the region, and thereafter we took this project forward despite many challenges.
“We request both government leaders to resolve the ethnic conflict, that has existed for more than 70 years, for the betterment of the country,” said Mr. Senathirajah, a leader of the Tamil National Alliance, which controls the provincial government in the North and sits in the national parliament.
Mr. Wickremesinghe said the airport would play a major role in the economy of the Northern Province following the end of the civil war in 2009, adding that before the war the north had contributed significantly to the national economy.
The Prime Minister is confident that in its first year of operation the airport will recoup in revenue the costs incurred so far.
He emphasised India’s major role and financial assistance in developing the airport within a short time.
Schoolchildren at the event. Pix by Amila Gamage
“We couldn’t have done it if we had followed routine diplomatic channels. Both parties worked very hard to make this happen within six months whereas the project had been at ‘talks’ level for over 30 years in the past,” he said.
President Sirisena presided over Thursday’s inauguration, accompanied by Mr. Wickremesinghe, ministers, Indian dignitaries, local politicians and members of the public.
Marking the historical occasion, an Alliance Air ATR72-600 short-haul flight from the South Indian capital city of Chennai touched down on the newly-built runway at 10.14am with 28 Indian guests onboard. The journey took only 35 minutes. The ATR72-600 short-haul flight was operated by Alliance Air, a subsidiary of India’s state-owned Air India.
This is the Alliance Air’s first international flight, flying out of Indian cities for the first time; Jaffna has become its 55th destination.
The Indian High Commissioner, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, said Indian funding for the airport followed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the South Asian region.
He recalled Mr. Modi’s words during his visit to Sri Lanka in 2015: “The future I dream for India is also a future that I want for our neighbours”.
The High Commissioner said the inaugural flight was an example of India’s commitment to continue with people-oriented development projects in Sri Lanka.
“It was also a reflection of the shared commitment to further strengthen people-to-people ties between India and Sri Lanka, which lies at the heart of the bilateral relationship,” the envoy said, adding that bilateral relations “have now truly touched the sky”.
The sight of the passenger plane landing at the new airport on Thursday brought back memories for many who remembered catching a flight to India in bygone days.
Northern Provincial Council Chairman and former commissioner of the Jaffna Municipal Council C.V.K. Sivagnanam still vividly remembers how, as a young man of 20 in 1959, he obtained a ticket for Rs. 40 to travel to Thiruchi in India for religious purposes.
“I’m very hopeful that return of this airport after decades of lapse will bring more opportunities for the development of our region with more foreign investment and employment in the tourism sector,” Mr. Sivagnanam told The Sunday Times.
“Our hardworking people are very optimistic for a better future with the inauguration of this airport.”
The new airport is estimated to cost just over Rs. 2.2 billion. The government allocated Rs 1.950 million for this purpose, and an Indian grant of Rs. 300 million was provided for the development.
The airport will be built in three stages. The first stage involved laying a 950m runway that can take aircraft with fewer than 72 seats.
The main runway, of up to 1.5km, will be laid in the second phase of the project.
Regular commercial flights between Chennai and Jaffna are scheduled to start from early November, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said.
One happy member of the public witnessing the reopening of the airport was K. Vijayakumar, 55, from Nelliyadi, who works as a driver for a local government authority.
Although he had never flown from Palaly he had heard many stories from elders who had known the airport in operation in times past, and he was full of hope that its reincarnation would create a bright new future for the region.
“Nowadays our people have spend thousands of rupees to go to the south to take flights or stay in lodges to meet our relatives when they come from abroad, landing in Colombo. With this new airport, those difficulties would be gone and, more importantly, many new doors will open for us,” Mr. Vijayakumar said.