# Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (HRI)

> Mattala, LK · IATA: HRI · ICAO: VCRI · Large Airport

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `HRI` |
| ICAO | `VCRI` |
| City | Mattala |
| Country | LK |
| Type | Large Airport |
| Elevation | 48 m |
| Cargo | ❌ |
| GPS | 6.28447, 81.12413 |

## Description

Opened in March 2013 under President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Mattala Rajapaksa International was built to serve southeast Sri Lanka from a site about 18 km from Hambantota. The ambition was large, but traffic never followed: the field has become widely known as one of the world's emptiest airports, with daily passenger numbers at times in the single digits. Air cargo is effectively absent — zero tonnes were reported for 2021, and no dedicated freight operation has taken root since. No based integrators or scheduled freighter services use the site, so it is honestly assessed as not cargo-relevant. Shippers in the south route their air freight through Bandaranaike International (CMB) near Colombo, which holds the terminal, cold-chain and SriLankan Cargo capacity. Seasonal charter carriers such as Red Wings and Centrum Air have recently added a little passenger movement. A recurring talking point is the surrounding wildlife, which has made bird-strike management a genuine operational concern.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/mattala-rajapaksa-international-airport-hri](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/mattala-rajapaksa-international-airport-hri)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/mattala-rajapaksa-international-airport-hri](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/mattala-rajapaksa-international-airport-hri)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/mattala-rajapaksa-international-airport-hri/llm-summary*