Switzerland’s Edelweiss Air and Poland’s LOT Polish to operate flights to Sri Lanka
Two international airlines have reportedly expressed interest in commencing flights to Sri Lanka in the upcoming winter season.
The Sunday Morning Business has reported that Switzerland’s Edelweiss Air and Poland’s LOT Polish have formally communicated their intentions to operate flights in winter and are currently engaged in discussions with Sri Lankan authorities.
The local media report states that Edelweiss already operates flights in summer to Sri Lanka and the extension to winter is a vote of confidence in the country amidst tough conditions.
According to the report, Edelweiss has already sold nearly 200 seats on its first winter flight to Sri Lanka. The airline’s official website said that flights between Zurich and Colombo can currently be booked for travel between October 2019 and April 2020.
Edelweiss Air is a Swiss leisure airline owned by Swiss International Air Lines which in turn is owned by Lufthansa.
Meanwhile, LOT polish, the flag carrier of Poland, had first communicated its intention to commence direct flights to Sri Lanka prior to Easter, and had reiterated its commitment to commencing winter flights following the attacks, the media report stated.
LOT polish President Rafał Milczarski in a statement at the time, had noted that they decided to start a regular connection to Sri Lanka due to the very large tourist potential of this direction. Annually, more than 1.8 million people travel between Europe and Colombo.
According to the official website of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Poland, the Polish carrier will offer the service from 3 November 2019 to 28 March 2020 with nine-hour flights from Warsaw to Colombo on a Boeing 787-9 LOT Dreamliner.
OSL take:
The interest shown by international airlines to resume flights to Sri Lanka is indicative that the country is returning to normalcy and foreigners are keen on visiting the country. India’s national carrier, Air India has also announced the resumption of flights between New Delhi and Colombo. As stated by billionaire businessmen, Sri Lanka has the potential for growth and has all the ingredients for a quick bounce back following the Easter Sunday attacks. With foreign airlines resuming flights to Colombo and the increase in the numbers of tourists visiting the country, Sri Lanka’s tourism sector is geared for a quick bounce back. Therefore, foreign businesses/investors could explore business opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/12062019/Z_8 |