Sri Lanka’s Mattala airport to provide air services to Serbian aircraft

Nov 12, 2015 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Mattala International Airport is to be utilized by Serbian aircraft for air services to access and fly to other countries via the airport, the cabinet spokesman said on Thursday. Serbia, which is an upper middle income country, makes a vast contribution to its economy through tourism and has entered into multilateral air agreement with 13 countries in the European Union. “It is observed that the air service relations of Siberia would be helpful in the development of air service and tourism in Sri Lanka,” Rajitha Senaratne, Minister of Health, Nutrition & Indigenous Medicine said at a post-cabinet briefing. He added that the Mattala International Airport can be fruitfully utilized by allowing Serbian aircraft to access and fly to other countries via this airport including fifth freedom traffic rights. Fifth freedom of traffic rights is the right to fly between two foreign countries on a flight originating or ending in one's own country. A proposal made by Nirmal Siripala Silva, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, to sign and enforce the Air Service agreement, signed at the official level by an accredited representative of Sri Lanka, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.