I guess It's 8 brother. But i'm not quite sure. Yes most of the North Indian, East Asians uses the machines. I've seen. But most of the time no one is near the counters. If they assign someone next to the machine and educate passengers to use the machines, more passengers will use it in the future I guess.

Sri Lanka's Mattala airport sees 35,000 passengers in 2017

May 22, 2018 06:21 AM GMT+0530 | 0 Comment(s)

ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka's Mattala international airport built by China has handled 30,051 passengers in 2017, up sharply from 5,750 passengers a year earlier, after the main airport in Colombo was closed for runway repairs earlier in the year.

Aircraft movements to Mattala had increased 6.9 percent to 978 in 2017, central bank data showed.

UAE-based Fly Dubai makes scheduled flights to the airport built by China with a loan from the country.

Sri Lanka has tried to attract an investor to run the airport and later said it will be given to India to operate. However no further steps have been taken.

Passenger movements at Sri Lanka's Katunayake airport near the capital Colombo had increased 5 percent to 9.8 million, despite an 8-hour closure of the runway for repairs in the first quarter of the year.

Aircraft movements had increased 0.3 percent to 64,903. (Colombo/May22/2018)

Good progress in preparation for Apron E construction.

SriLankan Airlines CEO: 'Nobody flies' to Mattala Airport; AAI likely to take it over




SriLankan Airlines CEO Suren Ratwatte, speaking at CAPA Airline CEOs in Sydney, commented (05-Jun-2018) on the new Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, noting that "nobody flies there" and it can be best described as a "white elephant", with the airport having a "very small" catchment area. Mr Ratwatte also noted that the "airport currently seems to be taken over by the AAI, exactly what I don't know", further reiterated that it "evidently seems to be the plan" for AAI to invest in the airport. He added that, in terms of some of the large China supported infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka: "Who the infrastructure was supposed to cater to, I really don't know". He however said that it has an ultimate "positive impact" for Sri Lanka, who is "not paying the financial price" for recent infrastructure projects financed by international capital.


Source-capa

AAI = Airports Authority of India ???

Mattala airport in Sri Lanka loses last scheduled carrier

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka is set to establish another world record as its second international airport was left without a single scheduled flight from today (June 8) after the only airline using the jinxed facility scrapped its daily service

Flydubai stopped its operations from Mattala, yesterday flight was the last.

I was really surprised that it lasted that long

that's correct

Probably why it’s called a Ghost Airport... Now let’s see if the Indians want to manage HRI or will the Chinese beat them to it

Never been to HRI, but by the looks of it and it’s interior, it seems to be much better than CMB which is one of the worst airports I’ve ever been to

HRI does have immense potential, and it needs to be managed by a proper institution and work to attract more airlines to it as well as provide domestic air connectivity at economical prices to CMB and RML which would be an absolute necessity

Now the govt must pay both the debt and spend money to maintain this. If the govt doesn't find a good solution to the issue then the burden falls entirely on the tax payers

Effective from Monday 18th June 2018, a series of renovation work expected to commence shortly at the emigration counter areas at the departure terminal of the BIA.

Source-Srilankan airlines

No it doesn't!

There was no economic case for this airport - a vanity project by the former President.

Plenty of corruption too if anyone ever bothers to investigate.

The fact that no Airline flies here shows what a horrendous waste of money this is - it will never be a viable airport.

Hopefully the IMF forces the GOSL to shut this down - the quicker the better imho.

Yahh i also share same view... the location itself does not demand for an international air port and if you take size our country alone, we don't need a bigger 2nd airport like Mattala ( i guess if you made Palali in to Int level.. that will have better proposition than Mattala as far as SL air ports are concerned) .. all our efforts should be focused on how to improve BIA, Katunayake and cater to both SL and Male.. look at Bali Air port for an instances... that has pretty much air traffic than us... (anytime in bound and out bound flights to CMB is just 10-30.. but Bali for that instances 60-70.)
PHOTO-1 CMB

PHOTO-2 BALI (DPS)

do we have so much of air traffic influx..? no.... so What Mattala can do about it...? make it transit hub.. ok then who will fly using this airport as a hub... look at our location (we are at edge of Indian ocean... as against SIN, MALAYSIA, HKG, MUMBAI, DUBAI for that matter

Only probable country to fly out is just India....so is there is a real opportunity make Mattala as a transit hub.. well i'm doubtful...apart from that now every air liner are eyeing on direct flights... so fate of those transit hubs are at a stake and only very few will remain....

renovation work expected to commence shortly at the emigration counter areas at the departure terminal of the airport