The government has taken measures to establish a D Check hangar for airplanes at the international airport being built anew at Mattala in Hambantota.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has come to an agreement with a Dubai based company for the D check hangar. A three acre land is to be allocated adjacent to the airport for this purpose, Minister of Civil Aviation Priyankara Jayaratna

The Heavy Maintenance Visit (HMV) or the D check is the most comprehensive maintenance check on an air plane and is normally performed every 5-6 years.
A D check can generally take from 3 weeks to 2 months, depending on the aircraft and number of technicians involved.

Since the entire airplane has to be taken apart completely during a D check, it requires a large space and most airports do not have such facility mainly due to lack of space, the Ministry of Airport, and Aviation points out.

The government plans to complete the construction of the second international airport by the end of the next year.