SriLankan Airlines gets 10 more years for exclusive ground handling at BIA

Airport & Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited has awarded SriLankan Airlines Ltd. the long term exclusive franchise for ground handling and catering services for all airlines operating to Bandaranaike International Airport for a period of 10 years, further strengthening its image as South Asia’s finest airport.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed recently by Prasanna Wickramasuriya, Chairman of Airport & Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd, and Manoj Gunawardena, CEO of SriLankan, in the presence of the Piyankara Jayaratne, MP, Minister of Civil Aviation.

AASL Chairman Prasanna Wickramasuriya said: “This MOU comes as we stand on the threshold of a major era of growth and development that will once again transform BIA. We want many more airlines to operate to BIA within a very short time, and intend to establish BIA as a regional hub for aviation under the vision of President, Mahinda Rajapaksa.”

 “BIA is the first point of contact with our country for many foreign visitors. We expect great things of SriLankan Airlines and SriLankan Catering in this process. AASL and SriLankan are close partners, and the success of each depends on the other,” Wickramasuriya added.

BIA is about to embark on a new phase of expansion which will add a considerable number of new and sophisticated facilities. They include the construction of a Second International Terminal for both arrivals and departures to increase capacity to 13 million passengers per year from the present 6 million; a new Domestic Terminal; re-laying of the entire runway and taxiway; and the extension of the railway up to the Cargo Centre to allow containers to be shipped to the airport by rail. The Airport Expressway is also nearing completion and would considerably shorten the time of travel between Colombo and BIA.

SriLankan Airlines CEO Manoj Gunawardena said: “SriLankan Airlines is delighted to be awarded the long-term franchise for ground handling at BIA. We are mindful that we must now justify the confidence of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and AASL in our abilities. We will not regard this as a monopoly, but instead as the creation of a stable long-term environment for us to invest and contribute to the growth of services and facilities in Sri Lanka’s main airport. The image of BIA depends on the quality of service and the competitiveness of our ground handling operation.”

SriLankan Airlines will be the exclusive ground handler at BIA’s international terminals, covering passenger handling, baggage services, and cargo handling.

SriLankan Catering Ltd, the National Carrier’s subsidiary, will be the exclusive provider of food and beverage products for 10 years at all of BIA’s many restaurants and passenger lounges. It will also be the exclusive provider of in-flight catering. SriLankan Catering already manages BIA’s 24-roomed Serenediva Transit Hotel.

BIA has already been transformed in the last several years with the addition of a modern pier with aerobridges; luxurious new lounges with the latest comforts; sophisticated terminals for arrivals and departures; a new transit hotel; a new duty free sales area; and the doubling of capacity at its Cargo Centre.

There are also plans for a new 300-roomed transit hotel, a multi-storey car park with a monorail leading to the terminal, and a shopping mall.

The number of passengers passing through BIA grew by 24% in 2010, to a total of 5.3 million. This coincided with the average number of aircraft movements increasing to 108 per day from 72 a year earlier.

The number of airlines operating scheduled services to BIA increased by 10 up to 32 within 2010. This resulted in 41,000 aircraft movements during the year, including an increase of 20% in international movements.

The MOU was signed in the presence of Ranjith Silva, Secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, G.S. Withanage, Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Dammika Attygalle, Advisor to the Minister of Civil Aviation, Kamal Ratwatte, Vice Chairman of AASL and Johanne Jayaratne, Executive Director of AASL.

FT Alert

In the offing at BIA

•     Construction of a Second International n    Terminal for both arrivals and departures to increase capacity to 13 million passengers per year from the present 6 million
•     A new Domestic Terminal
•     Re-laying of the entire runway and taxiway
•     A new 300-roomed transit hotel, a multi-storey car park with a monorail leading to the terminal, and a shopping mall
•     Extension of the railway up to the Cargo Centre to allow containers to be sent to the airport by rail.
•     The Airport Expressway is also nearing completion and would considerably shorten the time of travel between Colombo and BIA