Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport with a private driver

Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (IATA: HRI) near Hambantota opened in 2013 as a second international hub but has operated well below capacity since opening, earning an informal reputation as one of the world's least-used international airports. When flights do operate here (primarily charter and occasional scheduled regional services), arrivals benefit from the closest air access to Sri Lanka's southeastern wildlife parks: Yala National Park gate is 50 kilometres east (about 50 minutes), Udawalawe National Park is roughly 75 kilometres northwest (about 75 minutes), and the Hambantota seaport is 15 kilometres west. Private-driver pickups from Mattala are straightforward — the airport is accessible, uncrowded and has no meaningful queuing — and a direct transfer from Mattala to the Yala bush camp of your choice is one of the most efficient wildlife park arrivals possible in Sri Lanka.