May I disagree with this plan. I think it's not a good idea to split the UL flight operation between CMB and HTT, it will create more inconvient for transit passengers and it will affect the pax-demand. Perhaps MJ can move it's operation to HTT when UL focus from CMB. Correct me if I am wrong.

well I'm not a professional but I see some opportunity with HTT . HTT can handle A380 which CMB can't yet ( pax ) though A380 can can land . so we can look forward to bring some long haul carries here at HTT . EK is operating DXB - SYD - AKL , we can easily have a stop over here , there are lot of passenger who is flying aussie from sl . meantime we can look forward others to do same .... ( Singapore , Lufthansa , ) and mean time UL can schedule to have connected with long haul flights if the A380 s agreed to come hera as I mentioned before . UL can easily shift few chinese destination via HTT coz most of chinese workers are working in Hambanthota area . MJ can move to HTT i c lot of potential with pilgrims from Hambanthota and surrounding . UL can handle all Indian flights from colombo . They can easily extend few flight to HTT . LHR - CMB - HTT , RUH - CMB - HTT , so the extended flights can take the pax who has to connect with HTT from colombo . no need of another domestic service may be for the moment we can use the extend service to carry that pax . and i strongly recommend to extend the southern highway up to HTT as it starts from BIA a convenient way to connect both airports easily and much more cheaper efficient way .

I STRONGLY believe that HTT MUST look in to the A380 which is flying over sl , n make them to have a stop over here . what do you say ?

Ok try to answer these questions; then you will find answer
1. What is most expensive part of the Airline business?
2. When does the aircraft burns more fuel; in cruising altitude or in take off and landing?
3. What is catchment area for HTT?
4. What benefit does an airline gets to do a stopover in HTT?

well actually u hv very good questions but in the first part i told im not a pro expert just gave a thought which i had ur questions proves me that im wrong :P . the thing is i never believed that we need a 2nd international air port , but wht to do they made it , without thinking of expanding n developing what we already got :/ so now we have to figure out something for that isn't it .....

Sri Lanka definitely needed a second international airport and the location they chose to build it makes sense given the proximity to the sea port. Both the air and sea ports will form an integrated logistics transhipment hub once the area develops.

True; Sri Lanka requires a second international airport and also a second runway at CMB. But question still remains the Location of HTT; I assume that 88gee was referring to PAX not Cargo (still there are no cargo version of A380).

Now let see if HTT was developed as an integrated logistics transhipment hub. Hambantota harbour was build by borrowing "commercial libor plus" not state to state soft loans from China ExIm Bank; very soon GoSL and SLPA has to pay loan installments. Port of Hambantota has to attract all those ships which are by passing Hambantota everyday. now lets see Singapore; SG has a world class airport and a sea port; handles more pax and cargo than Sri Lanka. There is a another reason why SG is attractive, there is an island off the coast of singapore called the Jurong island. which has the 3 large oil refineries with combined out put is larger than worlds largest oil refinery (That is owned by Reliance and in India). Singapore is refining 1.2 million bbl per day compared to 50 thousand bbl per day at Sapugaskanda (even that is now in jeopardy). Why does singapore is refining so much oil when there is a limited number of cars on the island streets. mostly to export heavy oil like bunkering attracting ships and lower priced Jet A1 attracting cargo flights. where as Sri Lanka has to import most of the refined products from overseas specially from Singapore. cost of building sea port in Singapore is much less than compared in sri lanka. This mainly due to the fact Singapore is shielded by malyan peninsular and Indonesian islands, so there are no waves. where as in Hambantota is normal to see 5M waves; this means building expensive breakwater. Today port of hambantota has nothing to offer to attract any ships. What really should have happened would be to build a Refinery first make money then build harbour attract ships by selling bunkering and build a Cargo Airport and that would complete the integrated logistics transhipment hub.

I am not going to talk about container trans shipment; that is whole new chapter hambantota need to compete in the region (region means all the way from persion gulf to south china sea); sometime even against Colombo. again bunkering prices will have major say on that as well

Hambantota airport plans, runway, terminal and ATC..



airport.lk

@speedbird : yea I talked about pax from A380s . There are airports built in deserts and many of them have succeeded.... so why can't we plan HTT as HUB where many long haul flights come n go ?

Some very insightful facts. Thanks for the post.

I think with the harbor already in place and the airport coming on line fairly soon, we will have two of the most important links in the transhipment hub. What is needed then is a dedicated free trade area (which is considered ‘offshore’ for the purpose of customs and related taxation) to be slotted in between to introduce value added processing.

Sri Lanka has a fairly well educated workforce which is still cheap compared to their Asian counterpart. This human asset should be leveraged to have processing and light industries established in the free zone, allowing it to operate not as a simple transshipment hub, but also as a logistic city and a center of excellence.

With regards to the proposal of developing HTT as an aviation hub, it will be next to impossible with SIN, DXB and DWC, all in the proximity of 4 hours flying time.

You cannot develop an aviation hub without the presence of a very strong local carrier which considers the location their hub and UL is nowhere near that level of development and very unlikely to be, in the foreseeable future.

HTT could occasionally be used for refueling and will be designated as an emergency diversion by overflying aircraft, but there is absolutely no business case for any of those airliners to have scheduled technical stops there.

Hambantota port has the potential to become something successful and extremely beneficial for Sri Lanka so long as it’s done properly.

Unfortunately people in Sri Lanka do not get this. Speaking to a couple of friends a few years ago regarding Hambantota port, they mocked and ridiculed the whole concept and laughed at the whole idea of (one day) out beating Singapore. Therein lays the problem in Sri Lanka. People do not want betterment, they do not want Sri Lanka to thrive and succeed and “be the best” because they only view things with political tunnel vision and short term goals. They’d rather settle their personal scores and cheap dislikes first and foremost without giving a damn for the future and the long term vision.

We saw this vile mentality during the war. Plenty of people would rather see the country disintegrate and have another 2 decades of war just because they didn’t like Mahinda and were obsessed with ensuring they had a tool to secure their power. How many times did we have the fools in the opposition from 2007-09 actually demanding the Government be overthrown based on the “high cost of living”, when the real issue for them was their desperation to stop the war being won and MR taking credit –in the end their idiot actions made MR more popular than had they kept quiet, thereby letting the thugocracy grow into the arrogant foul and disgusting mess it is today.

Our competitor nations do not need to worry about Hambantota port, people in Sri Lanka are doing a good enough job badly marketing it and spreading hate against it to make it failure, joined at the hip by morons in Government who also managed to screw things up.

As I mentioned earlier, MJ and UL operating from two different Hubs would support both airline to expand their network without eating each of their market. It is one of the reason UAE based airlines EK, EY and G9 are still making profits as they based in different Hubs and concentrating on the relevant markets. In the intial stage, Ideal destinations for MJ from HTT can be SIN, KUL, BKK, CGK, MLE, IXM, TRZ, MAA, TRV, KHI, LHE, DAC, MCT, DXB and other Gulf centres which has got high-migrant traffic. Let's we forget about operating between HTT and Europe for now.

Until business grow at Hambantota, HTT can be utilised to cater the migrant traffic when CMB continue concentrate on the premium and migrant traffic. I am very sure HTT not only a future-Hub for Sri Lanka it is also for South India, if they sustain the progression to become a business centre. In the future, CMB would become a LCC airport and HTT would gain the status of Hub for handling premium and LCC airlines.

AASL said HTT will open for commercial operation in mid-Jan 2013. To attract International airlines, Ground handling, landing and parking fees would initially be provided via an attractive package for a period of six months. Airline like QR, FZ, G9 and few more international airlines are looking forward to begin operation out of HTT.

Other than the Sked flight operation, HTT will be used as an Technical Stop for aircraft fly over Sri Lanka. On the other hand HTT will have three or four hangars to host the enhanced MRO facility for SriLankan Engineering.

@ Banuthev; HTT has all the ingredients of Montreal's Mirabel International Airport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montr%C...tional_Airport which was supposed to replace Montreal's Dorval Airport http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montr%C...tional_Airport when time permits please read about it. PAX are not like Cargo; they (PAX) usually complain lot and vote by using their feet

@88gee; airport built in the desert has something which Sri Lankans do not have starting from good credit; money; fuel and a very strong local airlines

Sri Lanka Emerging As Regional Air Freight Hub