MATTARA RAJAPAKSA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MRIA)

Despite the reluctance of conservation organizations due to its proximity to major national parks and reserves, Hambantota Airport was inaugurated in March 2013, becoming the second airport in the country to host international flights. Sri Lanka Airlines, Mihin Lanka, Rotana Jet and Flydubai operated there until February 2015 (low-cost flights and flights outside Europe), when the government of the new President Maithripala Sirisena decided to close it, possibly temporarily. Its construction will have cost the Sri Lankan government, which is the sole owner, about $200 million. Cinnamon Air offered flights to and from Colombo from May 2016 to 2018. Flights were interrupted for economic reasons and because of problems encountered by the aircraft due to the large number of birds. The airport is classified in category F (suitable for receiving Airbus A380s) and has a runway of 3,500 metres. It also received the world's largest aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, in April 2018.