VZCZCXRO6561
OO RUEHBI RUEHLMC
DE RUEHLM #0962/01 1901045
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 091045Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6420
INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1180
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0272
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 7253
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 5360
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 3232
RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE 5698
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 3895
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 3966
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3052
RUEHKP/AMCONSUL KARACHI 2215
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 7846
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 5501
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0381
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000962 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS AND EEB/TRA/OTP 
MCC FOR D TETER, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE 
BANGKOK AND SINGAPORE FOR TSA AND FAA 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR ECON EINV ETRD PTER CE
 
SUBJECT:  SRI LANKA: COLOMBO AIRPORT RESUMES NIGHT OPERATIONS 
 
REF:  COLOMBO 660 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Sri Lanka's Bandaranaike International Airport resumed 
night operations on July 1 after the airport suspended night flights 
in early May following a series of air attacks near the airport by 
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.  However, only one airline 
operating through Colombo has announced plans to resume night 
operations.  With the government unable so far to neutralize the 
Tigers' air attack capability, most airlines are likely to hold off 
on resuming night flights.  End summary. 
 
¶2.  Sri Lanka's only international airport, Bandaranaike 
International Airport (BIA), resumed 24- hour operations on July 1, 
lifting the restriction on flights operating between 2200 and 0400 
hours that had been in place since May 10.  The closure occurred 
following a series of air attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil 
Eelam (LTTE) (reftel).  Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena 
announced the resumption of night operations and said the decision 
followed lengthy discussions between defense and aviation officials. 
 The Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Parakrama 
Dissanayake, also confirmed to Econoff that the decision to open the 
airport was based on high level government discussions as well as 
"safety information" presented to the government. 
 
AIRLINES MOSTLY PREFER TO KEEP DAYTIME FLIGHTS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3.  Following the BIA decision to resume 24-hour operations, only 
one airline, Dubai-based Emirates, has announced that it will resume 
night flights into and out of Colombo.  Effective July 15, Emirates 
plans to return to the flight schedule it operated prior to the May 
closure. 
 
¶4.  Sri Lankan Airlines, the national carrier managed and 43%-owned 
by Emirates Airlines, does not yet plan to join Emirates in resuming 
night operations.  A Sri Lankan Airlines public relations official 
told Econoff that the airline was not yet comfortable to resume 
night operations and is seeking assurances from the government and 
insurance companies that it was safe to do so.  The Sri Lankan 
Airlines official, however, also told Econoff that the airline hopes 
to begin scheduling night flights in August.  (Note: Neither 
Emirates nor Sri Lankan officials could explain why the two 
airlines, though both managed by Emirates, made different decisions 
on the resumption of night flights.)  Sri Lankan has suffered the 
greatest loss from the airport's night time closure.  This is not 
only due to the decline in the number of its passengers, but also a 
drop in its Airport Handling and Catering operations for foreign 
airlines.  The security situation also disrupted Sri Lankan 
Airlines' plans to expand its flight operations to new 
destinations. 
 
¶5.  Aside from Emirates, the only other request for evening 
operations thus far has come from India-based Jet Air, but solely 
for the purpose of using the BIA as an alternate airfield during 
night time hours.  (The Civil Aviation Authority plans to approve 
this request.)  Meanwhile, all other airlines including Singapore 
Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Malaysian 
Airlines have yet to decide whether to resume their night flights. 
Despite the lack of immediate enthusiasm to re-start evening 
flights, the airport reopening has had some positive impact: several 
airlines that had entirely ceased flying to Sri Lanka now plan to 
resume service.  India-based Air Sahara will resume operations to 
Colombo from July 22.  Cathay Pacific is expected to resume flights 
in September. 
 
NO PLANS TO ACQUIRE A NEW RADAR SYSTEM 
 
COLOMBO 00000962  002 OF 002 
 
 
-------------------------------------- 
¶6.  According to a senior Sri Lankan Airlines official, the Civil 
Aviation Authority has not made any security guarantees to the 
airlines.  He believed this was the primary reason that most 
airlines were reluctant to resume night operations.  The decision to 
lift the evening curfew was based on defense and aviation officials' 
assessments that the airport security authorities are capable of 
responding to emergency situations.  Since March, the BIA has 
augmented its security personnel with officers from the Sri Lanka 
Air Force (SLAF) and the Airport and Aviation Services Ltd (AASL), 
the state-owned entity that manages BIA operations.  One senior AASL 
officer told Embassy that the BIA has not acquired any new radar 
capability and will continue to use its existing civilian radar 
system.  He said the current airport radar system is adequate for 
civil aviation purposes.  He added that the air space surveillance 
is the responsibility of the SLAF, which uses a military radar 
system to protect both BIA and the adjacent Katunayake Air Force 
Base.  According to the AASL senior officer, the air force radar 
system, which was not operating at the time of the March air attack, 
is now operational. 
 
NO INCREASE IN INSURANCE PREMIUMS 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  According to Civil Aviation Authority officials, a group of 
London-based insurance underwriters visited the BIA and assessed 
that the airport's current security was satisfactory and thus did 
not warrant an increase in premiums.  The government, which has not 
received any reports from the London-based insurance companies which 
ordered the review, views the absence of any recommendations as a 
positive sign. 
 
¶8.  COMMENT: Director General Dissanayake told us that it would take 
some time for airlines to resume night operations as bookings have 
been made under the present flight schedule and regional routes will 
need to be reconfigured.  With no indication that the government has 
neutralized the LTTE air bombing capacity, it is not surprising that 
most airlines are not yet ready to resume night operations.  The 
Tourist Board is eager to see a resumption of normal 24-hour flight 
operations as the main tourism season begins in early fall. 
Pressure from the government, including the President and the 
Tourist Board, may be needed to convince more airlines to resume 
night flights. 
MOORE