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Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) (also known as the Hambantota International Airport) is an international airport serving the city of Hambantota in southeast Sri Lanka.〔(News Mattala gets priority over BIA )〕 Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport is Sri Lanka's second international airport, after Bandaranaike International Airport. It is named after the Rajapaksa family. It is the newest airport in Sri Lanka. It is also the first greenfield airport in the country. The new international airport was expected to expand the local aviation industry whilst being a catalyst for the country's economic development enabling international trade, tourism, vocational training and employment. It was being implemented as an eco-friendly project. The airport was estimated to cost US$210 million and, by the end of construction, will cover 2,000 hectares. It was built to be compatible with the latest Airbus A380 aircraft and has been designed according to recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization. According to Sri Lankan government officials, future domestic airline Air Hybrid, and international airlines Emirates, Enter Air, Etihad Airways, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, and TUIfly showed interest in flying to Mattala, but none of these airlines confirmed these statements by government officials.〔(MRIA will match Gatwick soon )〕 Air Arabia, Rotana Jet, SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Air did fly to Mattala at various times, but all cancelled service for commercial reasons.flydubai is the only airline currently flying to Mattala. The airport is designed to facilitate for over 800 foreign passengers at peak hours and several local passengers per every 1000 km² in side the buildings.〔(Construction work at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport starts )〕 It will be made to support air-sea cargo transshipment in conjunction with the nearby Hambantota Port, which is about 15 miles away, and would act as an alternative to the Bandaranaike International Airport from the date of its completion. The Chinese government is providing financial assistance for the project.〔(President Rajapaksa inaugurates proposed Hambantota Air Port construction work « Sinhale Hot News ). Sinhale.wordpress.com (28 November 2009). Retrieved on 9 May 2012.〕〔()〕 The airport is being constructed by the China Harbour Engineering Company and that is their first airport construction project ever taken.〔(China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. > Projects > New Projects > Mattala Hambantota International Airport ). Chec.bj.cn. Retrieved on 9 May 2012.〕 The airport is operated by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd whom also provides the air navigation services in Sri Lanka. The airport was declared open by the President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, on 18 March 2013 and commenced operations with the landing of a SriLankan Airlines special Airbus A340 flight named 'City of Magam Ruhunupura' with the President on board. It handled nearly 6000 passengers in the first two months after opening. The busiest international destination was Dubai closely followed Bangkok in Thailand. () Domestic carriers Helitours and Cinnamon Air offer charter flights that connect the airport with Ratmalana Airport and Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo. ==History== It was initially planned to build an international airport serving the south of Sri Lanka at Weerawila, but the plans were scrapped due to environmental concerns. The site was then moved to Mattala, a small town 15 kilometres north of Hambantota. Maththala was a lesser known area with shrub jungle of many square kilometers. When the engineers approached the area they had to use hand tools to cut open the shrub cover and make a foot path towards the location. They spent their first nights in tree tops to avoid attacks from wild animals. Construction of phase one began on 27 November 2009 at Mattala.〔 By the end of February 2012 The construction of the runway, apron and taxiways were completed ahead of schedule. On 16 October 2012, a Hawker Beechcraft B200 King Air registered AP-CAB, belonging to the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan landed on runway 23 at 12.38 PM local time becoming the first aircraft to land at the new airport as requested by the Rajapaksa regime. It was an instrument testing aircraft fitted with ATC testing equipments. The test flights continued for 8 days for testing the ILS and other flight controls fixed in the new airport. On 24 January 2013, Sri Lanka Minister of Civil Aviation Piyankara Jayaratne said in parliament that the airport would be declared open on 18 March 2013. A SriLankan Airlines Airbus A330-200 landed at the airport on 29 Jan 2013. This was the second plane to land, shortly followed by an Airbus A320-200, which carried 125 orphan children from Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.〔(SriLankan spreads its wings to bring the thrill of flying to children )〕 On March 2013, it was reported that certifications of compliance and certification of aerodrome was awarded to the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.〔()〕 As announced earlier the airport was opened for flight operations on 18 March 2013. To commemorate this occasion a special SriLankan Airlines Airbus A340 named 'City of Magam Ruhunupura' carrying the president and ministers landed on runway 05 at 10.55 AM and became the first passenger flight to land at airport. Another SriLankan Airlines Airbus A340, flight UL226, from Dubai becomes the first commercial flight to land at Mattala. Flights of flydubai carrying passengers from Dubai and Air Arabia from Sharjah followed soon afterwards, becoming the first international airlines to operate from Mattala International Airport. After six weeks of operation, Air Arabia suspended service on the route because of a lack of passengers. Flydubai began scheduled flights between Dubai in 21 May using a Boeing 737-800, it is the first airline to operate daily flights to the airport. 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「Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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