A Sri Lanka Air Force detachment moved onto the site around 1976 . The site became an Air Field Unit in January 1982 . The airport served as major facility for the Sri Lankan military during the civil war . During the early 1990s the airport and surrounding areas were declared a High Security Zone and all the residents expelled . Between 1990 and 1995 this High Security Zone was the only government controlled territory on the Valikamam region . After the Valikamam was recaptured by the Sri Lankan military in 1995 the airport served as a vital link to the rest of the country as the land route was controlled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam . In 1996 Lion Air started operating flights for civilians between Jaffna and Colombo . Monara Airlines started flights on the same route in March 1998 . Monara suspended its services on 16 September 1998 after receiving threats from the LTTE for carrying military personnel . On 29 September 1998 Lionair Flight 602 left the airport around 1.48 pm bound for Ratmalana Airport . At 2.10 pm it was reported missing . Locals reported seeing the plane plunge into the sea near Iranaitivu , 15 km north of Mannar . All 55 on board were killed . The LTTE was accused of shooting down the flight
Lionair Flight 602
Lionair Flight 602
Jaffna Airport