Domestic airport Batticaloa Airport was originally opened on 17 November 1958 and was administered by
Department of Civil Aviation. About a decade later
Air Ceylon started operating
domestic flights between Batticaloa and
Ratmalana via
Gal Oya Airport using a 29-seat
Nord Aviation aircraft. In 1985 around 300 families were forcibly evicted from their homes in order to expand the airport. Using
emergency regulations, officials ordered residents living within a 500m radius of the runway to leave their residences. 230 homes, three temples and two schools in the villages of Puduvur and Valai Iravu were affected. The
Road Development Authority was given the task of extending the runway from 1,070 metres to 1,560 metres, suitable for 60-seater aircraft, but in November 2015, with 60% of the work completed, the renovation came to a stop. In December 2015 the government ordered the air force to complete the extension of the runway. The airport covers an area of out of which the air force occupies just over half - . The renovations cost
Rs 1.4 billion.
International airport As
Jaffna Airport was being redeveloped by the
Government of India, civil society groups from
eastern Sri Lanka complained to the Indian
consul in
Jaffna that Indian development work was only focussed on the north and ignored the east. In 2019 the Indian government agreed to redevelop Batticaloa Airport and the Sri Lankan government agreed to make it an international airport as well.
Cabinet approval was given in September 2019 to make the airport a regional airport, allowing
international flights but not
long-haul flights. In early October 2019 the airport was made a regional airport and renamed Batticaloa International Airport. The airport is expected to be ready for international flights by January 2020. ==Airlines and destinations==