Passenger movements at BIA up by 20%
Sri Lanka’s aviation recovery is fast approaching pre-pandemic levels, said Airport Aviation of Sri Lanka. (AASL)
Passenger movements at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) have risen by approximately 20%, and flight movements recorded a growth of 7% in Q1 of 2023 compared to Q1 of 2022. When comparing the first quarter of 2023 to the same period in 2022, we observe substantial growth in both passenger and flight movements.”
Passenger movements at its main gateway, Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), recorded a growth of 20%, with an increase from 1,374,130 to 1,651,039. Similarly, flight movements marked a growth rate of 7%, escalating from 9,357 to 10,018.
At present, BIA facilitates over 18,000 passenger movements while providing services for around 120 aircraft movements daily. BIA had facilitated 9.95 million passengers in 2019 and 62,195 aircraft movements before the global pandemic.
“BIA continues to create a happy journey for its travelers, elevating the passenger experience to new heights.”
Meanwhile as the civil airport operator and the aviation services provider has been able to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) requirements for the aviation security systems at Bandaranaike International Airport and other airports, reassuring that Sri Lanka’s airports and skies are safe.During the period of May 8 -18, 2023, a special expert team comprising the international audit team of ICAO conducted the audit on Sri Lanka’s aviation security systems under the Universal Security Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach (USAP-CMA).
Under the audit, eight critical areas, such as the regulatory framework of the national aviation security system, training of aviation security personnel, quality control functions, airport operations, passenger and baggage security, etc., and several others, were audited impartially by a four-member expert audit team.
During the audit process carried out at BIA over a period of 11 days, scrutiny of the aviation security systems revealed that Sri Lanka is flying high in its performance.
Chairman – AASL, G. A. Chandrasiri, stated “This certification at a time when the passenger movements at its main gateway, Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), recorded a growth of 20% in the first quarter of 2023 compared with 2022 and facilitate over 18,000 passenger movements and 120 aircraft movements daily, will boost the confidence among the international airlines and Sri Lanka’s aviation industry for the better prospects”.