Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) (Sinhala: මත්තල රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්යන්තර ගුවන්තොටුපළ, romanized: Mattala Rājapakṣa Jātyantara Guvantoṭupaḷa; Tamil: மத்தல ராஜபக்ஷ சர்வதேச விமானநிலையம், romanized: Mattala Rājapakṣa Carvatēca Vimāṉanilaiyam) (IATA: HRI, ICAO: VCRI) is an international airport serving southeast Sri Lanka. It is located in the town of Mattala, 18 km (11 mi) from Hambantota. It is the first greenfield airport and the third international airport in the country, after Ratmalana International Airport and Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo.
MRIA was opened in March 2013 by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who ordered the construction of the airport. Initially, several airlines flew to the airport, including SriLankan Airlines which established a hub. However, due to low demand, almost all of these airlines left Mattala by 2018.
Due to the low number of flights, it has been proposed to offer long-term aircraft parking services as well as creating flying schools and maintenance services to be offered from the airport.[2] In 2016, as the airport is not generating enough revenue to pay back the loans, the Sri Lankan government called for Expressions of Interest to run commercial activities. It was dubbed "The World's Emptiest International Airport" by Forbes due to its low number of flights despite the large size of the airport.[3][4] In 2020, newly elected Sri Lankan Government scrapped the negotiations with India to run the airport as a joint venture.[5] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the airport has seen an increase in traffic due to repatriation, charter, and seafarer flights. In 2022, the government again revived plans to run the MRIA as a Public Private Partnership because the airport continues to run at a loss.[6]
During its hub operations at Mattala, SriLankan Airlines flew Airbus A330 (shown here) and Airbus A340 widebody aircraft to the airport.ATC tower
^"Govt. plans to resume operations at Mattala Airport". dailymirror.lk. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
^"economynext.com". www.economynext.com. Archived from the original on 14 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
^"For Sale: The World's Emptiest International Airport".
^"The Story Behind The World's Emptiest International Airport".
^"Sri Lanka, not India, will develop Mattala airport: Gotabaya Rajapaksa".
^"Mattala Airport running at monthly loss of Rs. 10 Mn : Minister - Latest News | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
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