18 March declared Civil Aviation Day

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday declared 18 March as Civil Aviation Day following the opening of the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.

His declaration read: “I hereby declare that this 18 March, on which day the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport was handed over to the people in keeping with the commitment of the ‘Mahinda Chinthana’ to make Sri Lanka an aviation hub in Asia as part of the fivefold hubs of development and thereby enhance the service towards the people by inaugurating the first international airport built since independence through our own strength, is declared as Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Service Day.”