Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

Captain Anil Jayasinghe is a pilot at Singapore Airlines and spearheaded the recent Annual Balloon Festival. He spoke to The Sunday Leader about the upsides and challenges of hot air ballooning in Sri Lanka. Excerpts:

Q: How successful was this year s balloon fest?

A: The fourth Balloon Festival was a success. In spite of the global economic downturn and a slow recovery we attracted new participants. Two teams who visited during the first event back in 2003 participated for the fourth time. They were Harry Stringer from the UK and Akira Otaka from Japan.

This event is the only international aviation event in Sri Lanka and the first of its kind in South Asia. The event is unique that it is a holiday with hot air ballooning included.

The Balloon Festival has proven that it can prevail as it was held after the tsunami and even during times we had our ethnic war.

We had the full allotted six days of free balloon flying and the weather was excellent in the Dambulla and Sigiriya areas. The weather is the greatest dampener on hot air ballooning as they are very sensitive to winds and rain.

As the weather behaved we had some great flights over varying landscapes which is a highlight in Sri Lanka compared to other ballooning nations.

Also this sport in Sri Lanka can only be done in the morning hours before the thermic conditions start to affect safe ballooning.

The night glow, where the balloons will be displayed at Independence Square for the public to enjoy the sport, will take place on April 1.

Q: What were the challenges you faced this year in putting together the event?

A: I am based in Singapore as an airline pilot. I fly regularly on crew operating patterns and I am often away for many days. Modern communication was the key to coordinate as I had my son Shevaan based in Sri Lanka.

It was a good experience for him at his age to liaise with key officers from the Ministry of Economic Development, Sri Lanka Customs, Ministry of Defence and so on, which many at his age would never have to experience.

The next challenge I had was the changing time zones. When I was up and about in Europe or the USA, Colombo was at late evening and offices were closed, or vice versa. I had to get my rest and essentially it required running a tight ship. Close coordination of time and prioritising the work needed was key to the smooth organising of the event.

The Ministry of Economic Development together with Sri Lanka Tourism spearheaded the required approvals for the event which had to be supported by the Ministry of Defence.

It is a massive logistical chain and every link played an important role.

General aviation is virtually no more. During the war the authorities put a stop to all forms of aviation, including radio controlled planes and helicopters, a knee jerk decision which still haunts the industry and has had irreparable effects. The country is struggling to find its footing to restart the aviation infrastructure.

The only segment of the industry to actually see real growth has been hot air ballooning.

Due to our solid experience and genuine intentions, we maintained the pressure on the authorities to use common sense when it comes to hot air balloons and as a result we have the Sri Lanka Balloon Festival and two other commercial hot air balloon operators.

Sadly other forms of general aviation are yet to take off.

Q: When will the next Balloon Fest be held next?

A: After the first one in 2003 followed by 2005, I changed it to an even year 2008. However since 2011 was the visit Sri Lanka year it was prudent to shift it to this year. I hope to have the next event in 2013. This would hopefully be the World Balloon Championships which will attract over 100 hot air balloons and 600-700 participants with their competition hot air balloons.

This will be a good experience for officials and all involved as it will be a solid stepping stone for preparations for the Commonwealth Games planned for 2018.

Q: What would you do differently at the next festival?

A: I need the solid support of sponsors. The challenge we have is to popularise the sport of hot air ballooning with all segments of government and the public. We have come a long way since pioneering the sport in 2002, as there are three commercial hot air balloon operators offering rides for hire.

Ballooning is a niche sport and I hope Sri Lanka continues to attract visitors that can enjoy ballooning. Budget tourists do not fill balloon baskets.

We included the military, and this year the army para jumpers for the first time. They enjoyed the experience as they had never jumped from a hot air balloon. I think now they are hooked as it was a very exciting opportunity.

We also arranged for the participants to visit the naval museum in Trincomalee and the Aviation Museum at Ratmalana. All this added colour to the event and the variety that our nation has to offer a visitor is what makes Sri Lanka a refreshing destination.

Q: How much did the exercise cost?

A: I really do not like to put a finger on the cost as that would dishearten me to organise this event. However the country earns a lot of foreign currency as this event attracts high end niche visitors.

I hope some day that I can profit from this event but my airline job is my bread and butter and hot air ballooning is the jam.

I am rewarded when I see the skies above Sri Lanka filled with hot air balloons. I admit that it is passion that drives me to organise this event. To see that the next generation enjoys and similarly pass it on to the next is what I am really interested in. This is what we should attempt to achieve even when it comes to nation building. I am glad that my son is taking to aviation just as I did.

What we do, should not only be about making money all the time, but also to give back to the country. I strongly believe in investing in the basics in the aviation industry which I enjoy very much, where it makes the real difference.

As I quote a leading business figure at his retirement, Corporates should not only do good but also do what is right. As the organiser of the event we at the Ceylon Airship and Balloon Club are a small team with multi tasking skills which helps offset organisational cost. This keeps the event manageable.

Q: How many people took part this year? How many countries were represented?

A: We had a total of 45 participants representing the US, UK, Japan, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy and of course, Sri Lanka.

Although it is a small event it attracts adventure seekers that travel with their own hot air balloons around the world participating at such events.

We had 10 hot air balloons from the visiting nations and they were joined by five Sri Lanka based hot air balloons.

Q: Did the balloonists get many of the general public signing up for the balloon rides? How much money approximately was made?

A: Participating balloonist come for the event with friends and family. Asking them to take passengers is not fair as they want to enjoy the flying and the beauty of the country first.

As I mentioned Sri Lanka has two commercial operators that offer rides and they were happy to join the event and this provided space to take local enthusiasts.

We did have around 120 locals and expatriates that took the opportunity to experience the thrills of ballooning and even had the privilege to have a resident ambassador participate. It was rather interesting to see these high profile individuals help in laying the balloons for inflation and helping to pack up the balloon in a dry paddy field or a jungle clearing after landing.

Ballooning is a team sport and that s what makes it fun.

We offered the rides at a discounted rate so as to promote the sport of hot air ballooning. Flights for the weekdays cost USD 100 and weekends USD 130. The normal rate is USD 170-200 depending on the package. Some request are high end and include a champagne breakfast, whilst some are just along for the ride.

The Sri Lanka Navy is conducting investigations and search operations from Wednesday to track down sailors who went missing while patrolling the Mullaitivu seas, Navy Spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya told the Sunday Observer.

He said the boat used by the missing sailors was found on Thursday in the coast of Vettilaikerni with no sign of damage.

The Navy Spokesman said the Navy is making every effort to ascertain the fate of the missing sailors who had been sailing from Chalai to Chundikulam in the Mullaitivu coast.

SriLankan Airlines' air taxi service launched its operations to Nuwara Eliya last week with a team of distinguished passengers on board, its first charter flight to the destination.

The flight which takes just 30 minutes to reach Nuwara Eliya from Colombo and flies over some of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscapes of the hill country carried a team from Hong kong Swire Group, and partners Colombo's James Finlay Group. The team from Hong Kong joined their colleagues in Colombo to visit James Finlay estates in Nuwara Eliya.

SriLankan Air Taxi also operates air services to Kandy, Bentota, Ampara, Koggala, Hambantota and Tangalle.

The Indian coast guard vessels yesterday began a search operation to trace four Lankan sailors who went missing on Tuesday afternoon while proceeding in a dinghy from Chundukuli Naval base to Chalai off the Mullaitivu coast. The Sri Lanka Navy on Thursday sought Indian assistance through its High Commission in Colombo to trace the missing sailors.

The dinghy was found on Thursday at Vettilaikerni intact without any damage indicating that there had been no struggle.



Navy spokesman Commander Kosala Warnakulasuriya said investigations were being conducted and several people in the vicinity of Chundikuli had been questioned and it is too early to comment on the circumstances that led to the incident.

Meanwhile District Secretary Mullaitivu S. Pathinathan said houses in the vicinity were searched and dismissed reports that people were harassed by the armed forces while conducting search operations.

Asked whether the search operations were carried out only after the sailors went missing, he said search operations in all five districts in the North were a common occurrence but it was intensified to some extent in Mullaitivu after the sailors went missing.

Sri Lankan Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya's official visit to Indonesia has resulted in further strengthening the longstanding and excellent defence relations between the two nations and their armed forces.

Army sources say that it also provided opportunity to explore further defence cooperation between the two countries.

Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya during his four day official tour to the Republic of Indonesia called on the Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army General George Toisutta and several high ranking Indonesian defence officials.

Lieutenant General Jayasuriya and General Toisutta held talks regarding matters of mutual interest in Jakarta.

The Indonesian Army Chief confirmed his Army's participation in the forthcoming international seminar on 'Defeating Terrorism - Sri Lankan Experience'. Lieutenant General Jayasuriya highlighted the importance of having a seminar of this nature in the aftermath of Sri Lanka's successful conduct of the humanitarian operation.

The talks also centered on possibilities for exchanging military training programs in the future.

The Army commander also met the Indonesian Defence Vice Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Indonesian National Defence Force Commander-in-Chief Admiral Agus Suhartono.

Air Vice-Marshal G.P. Sharma, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Meteorology) reviewed the parade and addressed the newly inducted Airmen at Tambaram Station of IAF. He also handed over awards to those Airmen who had excelled in academics and sports. After completing their basic training, the recruits had come to Tambaram to be trained at Mechanical and Workshop Training Institutes at IAF Station, Tambaram for 24 weeks.

Nine Airmen from Sri Lankan Air Force who had completed training, also received their certificates.

Sri Lanka's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) said the multipurpose transmission tower constructed in former rebel-controlled Kokawil of Mullaitivu District in Northern Province has commenced test transmissions.

The local media has reported that the tower is scheduled to be opened next month.

The tower, which is Sri Lanka's first ever multi-channel broadcasting tower, will be allocated for the providers of services of high speed internet, radio, television, and telecommunications transmissions, as well as military communication operations.

Sri Lanka Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya also visited Kokawil in Kilinochchi and inspected the rebuilt transmission tower on Friday.

The LTTE rebels captured the original tower and used to broadcast their clandestine transmissions before blowing it up when Sri Lankan troops were approaching in 2009.

Kokavil tower, the largest and the highest transmission tower in Sri Lanka is 175 meters in height. Around 350 million rupees have been spent for the construction of the tower.

Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission expects to provide space for state and private media and telecommunication channels transmission space through this tower.

Sri Lanka government will use the Indian line of credit to acquire a fleet of vehicles for the army trying to cut down on expenditure. The army in the quest to trim its operational expenditure was looking to stop the practise of hiring private vehicles, the Island newspaper on Wednesday quoted the Army Commander Lieutenant General Jagath Jayasuriya as saying.

Jayasuriya said the government is to use Indian line of credit to acquire a fleet of vehicles required by the Army.

The government of India had extended credit worth $400 million since 2003 covering the areas of capital goods, consumer durables, consultancy services and food items.

Fiftieth anniversary of first human flight to space

This year is marked by an outstanding date in the history of mankind - the 50th anniversary of the first human space mission, accomplished by the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. On April 12, 1961 in the spaceship Vostok 1 he orbited earth for 108 minutes.

Yuri Gagarin was born in 1934 in a small village 100 miles west of Moscow. His father was a carpenter, bricklayer and farmer, and his mother was a milkmaid. Yuri completed six grades of secondary school and then joined a four-year technical school, where he got a chance to join a flying club. So began the realization of his dream to become a pilot. In 1957 Yuri Gagarin graduated with honours from the Air Force Academy and became a military fighter pilot.

In 1959, he was selected for cosmonaut training as a member of the first group of USSR cosmonauts.

Though by 1961 several dogs successfully accomplished space missions and safely returned to earth, for a man outer space was absolutely unknown and frightening. But in the Soviet Union there were so many people - young men and women - who were dreaming to become cosmonauts not for personal glory or for money, but for the glory of the country, to contribute to the scientific progress and better understanding of our universe.

It was just 15 years after the devastating Second World War, in which about 30 mln. citizens of the USSR were killed and the whole country was half destroyed. But it managed to stand up from the ashes and to become the pioneer nation in outer space. The USSR was the first to send a satellite into space in 1957. It was the famous Sputnik.

The Soviet rocket and space program of the country was based on some unique theoretical researches, made in the beginning of the 20th century by Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovskii, known as the father of theoretical astronautics. The Soviet space program from the very beginning was very diversified. It started with the first satellite Sputnik 1, first animal in space - dog Laika on Sputnik 2, first human in open space - Alexey Leonov (he was good friend of Sir Arthur Clark and visited him in Sri Lanka), first moon impact and unmanned landing, first moon automatic rover, first space orbital station and first interplanetary probe.

Presently the Russian Federal Space Program for 2006-2015, approved by the government of the Russian Federation, is being implemented. This program foresees the development of mobile satellite communication system, space facilities for fundamental researches of the universe which are comprised by two astrophysical observatories, a spacecraft for sun and solar-earth link studies, a spacecraft for Mars research and delivery of Martian soil to the earth and, of cause, further development of the orbit space station, which is becoming more and more international with more and more countries joining scientific researches being held there. Russian space programmes become now more oriented for development of economy and enhancement of the people s life quality.

Every year Russia celebrates April 12 as the Cosmonautics Day. But this year the Russian Space Agency prepared a special programme to commemorate such an outstanding date of history. It has invited heads of 49 space agencies, Russian cosmonauts and foreign astronauts, who took part in space expeditions on Soviet and Russian spacecraft to attend the 50th anniversary celebration in Moscow.

Russia and other former Soviet Republics - now independent states plan special tributes. In Armenia capital Yerevan, for example, they plan to unveil a statue of Gagarin, and it will be also a great day at Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where Vostok-1 lifted Gagarin into outer space in 1961. The Gagarin museum was renovated in his native town, which had earlier been renamed after him. Special TV and radio programs, photo exhibitions and festivals are being prepared.