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Bandaranaike International Airport (also known as Colombo International Airport and Katunayake International Airport) is the main international airport serving Sri Lanka, and a hub for SriLankan Airlines. It is named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike and is one of the busiest hub airports in South Asia. Bandaranaike International Airport is located in a suburb of Negombo, 22 miles (35 km) north of Colombo. It is administered by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. It is the hub of SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, and Mihin Lanka, the budget airline of Sri Lanka. ==History== The airport began as a Royal Air Force airfield in 1944 during the Second World War, RAF Station Negombo. In 1957 it closed as the British left the island, and SWRD Bandaranaike removed all the British Military airfields from Ceylon (Sri Lanka), the airfield was handed over to the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) and renamed Katunayake. Part of it still remains an military airfield. In 1964 Anil Moonesinghe, the Cabinet Minister of Communications, started the building of a new international airport to replace Ratmalana, with Canadian aid. The airport was completed in 1967, and Air Ceylon, the national carrier, began international operations from it using a Hawker Siddeley Trident and a leased British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) VC-10. It was named after former Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, in 1970. It was renamed Katunayake International Airport in 1977, but was changed back to Bandaranaike International Airport in 1995. On 7 November 1971 the first Boeing 747 landing took place, the Boeing 747-200B was operated by Condor was carrying German tourists from Frankfurt. In the early 1990s the position of the airport's runway (04/22) was shifted northward and the old runway was made into a taxiway for departing and arriving aircraft. Airport expansion projects have recently been undertaken at the airport under the Stage 1, Phase II Expansion Project. A pier with eight aero-bridges opened in November 2005. A new terminal with an additional eight gates are proposed to be built under Stage II of the Phase II Expansion Project. Construction of the new Stage II, Phase II Expansion Project is expected to commence in September 2015 and is expected to be completed by 2017 .〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, Sri Lanka )〕 On 7 May 2007 the Sri Lankan Government decided to shift some military aviation operations out of the space adjoining the airport to SLAF Hingurakgoda, thus paving the way for more civilian operations. As part of the airport development program, a passenger train service was launched between the Airport and Colombo Secretariat Station, in June 2010. They also unveiled plans to extend the Colombo-Katunayake airport express train to Ratmalana International Airport.〔 The airport is used by Emirates as an alternative emergency airport for its Airbus A380 aircraft.〔 On 9 January 2012, an Airbus A380-800 operated by Emirates flight EK 413 from Sydney landed at Bandaranaike International Airport. This was the first time in history that an Airbus A380 had landed in a Sri Lankan airport. EK 413 had taken-off from Sydney en route to Dubai, but needed a refueling stop. Originally planned to refuel at Singapore, it was decided to land in Colombo instead. The exact cause as to why the A380 needed to refuel is not known. On 26 July, The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of Sri Lanka police set up a new security system at the Bandaranaike International Airport at Katunayake to identify criminals. The new system is expected to help identify the most wanted criminals. Bandaranaike International Airport is equipped with 18 double jetway gates in preparation for airlines introducing the Airbus A380. Emirates airline to fly the A380 to Sri Lanka in 2016 or 2017, deploying the aircraft on its daily Dubai–Colombo service. SriLankan Airlines is the largest airline operating at the airport, with a fleet of 25 Airbus aircraft based at Colombo and providing scheduled services to Europe, Middle East, India, South East Asia and the Far East. Mihin Lanka is a low-cost airline operating at the airport with a fleet of 3 Airbus aircraft based at Colombo and providing scheduled services to Middle East, India, South East Asia and the Far East. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bandaranaike International Airport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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