Jaffna-Chennai air travel gets costlier with Sri Lanka tax 

Calling it a ‘technical issue’, the top management at Alliance Air promises to resolve it soon
The airplane that flew from Chennai to Jaffna after 40 years | special arrangement
The airplane that flew from Chennai to Jaffna after 40 years | special arrangement

CHENNAI: As flight services from Chennai to Jaffna are set to resume on November 1, Air India’s subsidiary Alliance Air is trying to resolve the issue over the tax imposed by Sri Lanka, which will make the trip from Jaffna to Chennai costlier by Rs 3,500. Speaking to reporters, Ashwani Lohani, Alliance Air chairman-MD, and  CS Subbiah, CEO said that the fare proposed was around Rs 4,000 for the Chennai-Jaffna round trip. 

“Sri Lanka is imposing the Colombo departure tax of Rs 3,500 on the flight from Jaffna to Chennai which will make the trip expensive for Jaffna passengers. This issue is likely to be resolved soon,” they said. Interestingly, Batticaloa on the east coast, which was to link with Jaffna and Chennai, was also not ready.

“They are planning to complete the work before the launch of services from November 1,” said Subbiah after launching the special flight to Jaffna on Thursday, which was inaugurated by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena. 

“Once Batticoloa is ready, the plan is to link it with Colombo. Alliance Air plans to link Jaffna with Madurai and Tiruchy too,” he added. Jaffna became Alliance Air’s 55th and first international addition to the list of stations under its ambit. Lohani said that buoyed by the success, Air India was planning to look at other international destinations in SAARC countries.

Alliance Air had planned to operate thrice a week on the Chennai-Jaffna-Chennai route. “We are planning to commence operations very soon. It will be thrice a week. Later, we will increase it to seven flights a week,” said Subbiah. Earlier, the flight, which left at 8.45 am for Jaffna, was given a water salute during its arrival at the newly opened airport, surrounded by gun-wielding security guards and lush green vegetation. Even the clouds opened up as the flight touched the ground.

Formerly known as Palaly Airport and Sri Lanka Air Force Palaly, the airport has a history dating back to the World War-II. The inaugural flight by Air Ceylon on December 10, 1947 was from Ratmalana Airport to Madras via Jaffna. After Independence, the airport was the base for domestic flights to Colombo and international flights to South India. The growth of Tamil militancy put an end to civilian flights at the airport.

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