SLAF to fly passengers between Colombo, Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 April 2009, 17:45 GMT]
Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) will be operating passenger flights between Ratmalana in Colombo and Palaali military airport in Jaffna in future in place of private air travel firms which had been denied permission by the Defence Ministry to operate the service, according to an announcement made by Sri Lanka government, sources in Jaffna said. Minister of Social Services, Douglas Devananda, informed that passengers can book their travel tickets at his ministry office in Colombo and his Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP) office located in Srithar Theatre in Jaffna.

The passenger ship service between Trincomalee and Kangkeasanthu’rai being irregular the residents of Jaffna peninsula had the only option of traveling to and fro by flights operated by private firms.

Air travel being expensive and out of reach for the average residents of Jaffna peninsula they face difficulty in attending to matters which demand travel to Colombo and back.

SLAF which is concerned about the safety of the airports in Ratmalana and Palaali is alleged to be responsible for the denial of permission by the Defence Ministry to the private air travel firms, civil society sources in Jaffna said.