Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga yesterday said that Sri Lankan migrant workers will be offered discount rates, when they leave the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) for overseas employments.
He said that necessary discussion in this regard is held with the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLBFE).
According to the statistics of SLBFE, over 200,000 migrant workers leave Sri Lanka for employments every year. Many leaving for jobs are residents of surrounding areas of the MRIA such as Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Moneragala, Ampara, Badulla, Kalmune and Batticaloa. Therefore, this will be a great opportunity for them,” he added.
The proposal has already been approved by the Cabinet, and It will be implemented when the operations of the airport resumes in the near future.
The Minster further said that the Tourism Ministry has formulateda separate plan to convert the MattalaAirport as a most active airport in the South Asian region after it reopened.
So far, 8,200 passengers arrived at the Mattala Airport on 198 flights under the state repatriation,” the Minister added.