SriLankan Airlines to resume flights to nine Indian cities from Wednesday

BY S VENKAT NARAYAN    

Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, August 28: SriLankan Airlines will resume a limited number of flights to nine cities in India from Wednesday, September 1, V Ravindran, the airline’s New Delhi-based Manager for India and Bangladesh told Sunday Island.

They are: New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Tiruchi, Madurai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

At present, SriLankan has a limited number of flights to Chennai, Bengaluru and Mumbai. And the traffic is limited due to Covid-19.

From September 1, the airline will restart flying to six other cities. But the number of flights per week will be limited: five flights each to Chennai and Mumbai, three to Bengaluru, two each to Delhi and Hyderabad, and one each to Tiruchi, Madurai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

Once the Covid-19 situation improves in the island, the airline may increase the frequency of its flights to India, the manager said.

India is a lucrative market for Sri Lankan Airlines as well as Sri Lankan tourism. Before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted life everywhere, SriLankan used to operate 118 flights to 12 Indian cities. And as many as 450,000 Indian tourists used to visit the emerald island every year. That is more than any other country.

“Indians are bored sitting at home for such a long time due to Covid-19. Now, they are flocking to places wherever tourists are welcome. I am sure they will start going to Sri Lanka in large numbers as soon as things get better,” said Subhash Goyal, Chairman, Stic Travels, SriLankan’s GSA in India for North, West and East.

He said before Covid-19 broke out, Sri Lanka has been the most preferred destination for Indian corporates for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events) because SriLankan connects most important cities in India with Colombo. So, guests could fly direct to Colombo from their respective cities. “And Sri Lanka offers good value for money,” he added.