SriLankan Airlines has named one of its Airbus A320-200 aircraft “City of Yalpanam”, sparking joy and pride among the people of Jaffna.
The national carrier, which was recently awarded as South Asia’s Best Airline, has taken a symbolic step by honoring the heritage and cultural significance of Jaffna through this naming gesture.
With the holiday season currently underway in many Western countries, a large number of Tamil expatriates are flying with SriLankan Airlines to return to Sri Lanka—especially to Jaffna—for the historic Nallur Festival.
The aircraft named “City of Yalpanam” now represents more than just a flight; it is seen as a flying tribute to the identity and legacy of the northern peninsula.
However, passengers continue to face travel inconveniences due to the lack of direct flights between Bandaranaike International Airport (Katunayake) and Jaffna International Airport. At present, flights operate only from Ratmalana to Jaffna, causing logistical difficulties and time delays for those arriving at Katunayake.
As a result, many travelers are flying to Chennai and then making their way to Jaffna via transit routes. However, this method also presents challenges due to restrictions on the number of check-in baggage items allowed.
Passengers have expressed that if direct flights from Katunayake to Jaffna were introduced, it would greatly improve travel efficiency and encourage more visitors to the north.
This naming decision by SriLankan Airlines is seen as a significant move in strengthening regional recognition and celebrating the cultural heritage of the Tamil community.
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Update
However, according to the data obtained, although the name “City of Yalpanam” was assigned to the said aircraft as early as 2011, it is noteworthy that it has once again been prioritized and become a topic of discussion during the Nallur festival season. Similarly, it is reported that eight more Sri Lankan aircraft have been named after important locations in the country.
It is an idea of stealing Tamil’s Pride, not any shape or form of adding values to the Tamils! This #broken airline need to have any values on their own before even calling themselves as a #servants of “Trillions Dollars worthy Tamil community”.
Some people are there to find fault, I am sure this is one of the tiger tails. We had enough of you guys. Almost 40k young boys and girls lost their precious life.
Oh for F’s sake, grow up Judi !!!!
Great! There should be frequent flights to Jaffna Batticolo and Trinco.
Thank you Myth & Judi,
If SL Airlines could schedule layover flights from Katu to Jaffna, Batti, Trinco, Galle, Hamban, etc it would be of great help to all International arrivals @ Katu. Instead of dealing with taxis, busses & trains along with heavy luggage, a good deed for all Srilankans & Tourists.
Advertise schedules online & make bookings possible along with inbound overseas flights, sounds good, right? Appreciate if the Board of Directors could work on this. Thank you kindly.
Thank you Myth & Judi,
If SL Airlines could schedule layover flights from Katu to Jaffna, Batti, Trinco, Galle, Hamban, etc it would be of great help to all International arrivals @ Katu. Instead of dealing with taxis, busses & trains along with heavy luggage, a good deed for all Srilankans & Tourists.
Advertise schedules online & make bookings possible along with inbound overseas flights, sounds good, right? Appreciate if the Board of Directors could work on this. Thank you kindly.
It (must) spelled as “Yaalpaanam” instead of Yalpanam= යල්පනම්=யழ்பணம்.
New international airport should be built in Mankulam, which is equidistant to Jaffna, Trincomalee, Mannar and Vavuniya with highway and rail connections to these towns. With proposed bridge across Palk straits and highway and rail link between Talaimannar and Trincomalee, Mankulam airport will fit in ideally as a transport hub not only for northern Srilanka but also give connectivity to passengers from deep south of Tamil Nadu.
Thank you zarook, correctly said. Or how about “Yarlpaanam?”
Also how about the name of our very dear mother tongue, universally spelled in English as “Thamil” instead of “Tamil?”
Sounds good right?