Sri Lanka is planning to resume flights from northern Jaffna to Chennai, India by the end of December 2022, Sri Lanka's Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told Parliament. This move will give a boost to the nation’s tourism sector.
The tourism industry is the main source of foreign exchange earnings for Sri Lanka. According to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’s earnings from international tourism in November 2022 were $107.5 bn while the first eleven months, January-November 2022 tally was $1129.4 million.
However, the runway at Jaffna needs some repairs and improvements. Currently, only 75-seater flights can land at the airport. Post the inauguration of the airport in October 2019, International flights started from Chennai with the redevelopment funded by both nations, India, and Sri Lanka.
Alliance Air, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, operated three weekly flights from Chennai to Palaly. Post the change of government in Sri Lanka in 2019, these flights were halted.
Presently Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis.