Plans by Maldivian (Q2, Malé) to launch the first scheduled international passenger flights from Sri Lanka's Colombo Ratmalana airport for fifty years have been delayed, reports Lanka Information.
Maldivian Airlines planned to run a Malé – Ratmalana service 3x weekly using Dash 8-300 turboprop equipment starting April 9, 2017. However, Sri Lankan Customs staff have yet to be deployed to the airport and the flights have not commenced.
Ratmalana, located 15 kilometres south of Colombo, has primarily served as a domestic and training airport since the mid-1960s, although prior to that it was Sri Lanka's only international facility. In March this year, Sri Lankan and Maldivian authorities agreed to sign an MoU to see the airport return to scheduled international operations. It was thought that the route would appeal primarily to the tourist niche given the airfield's closer proximity to downtown Colombo than Colombo International Airport.
The flights do not currently appear on Maldivian's website.
