RELISH SRI LANKA ON THE WINGS OF SRILANKAN AIRLINES

My first visit to SriLanka was more  than two decades ago and I came back mesmerised by this jewel of a tourist destination that boasts of every experience that a traveller could wish for. Hill stations, beaches, delectable cuisine, fabulous shopping, culture, affordable or luxury experiences as you will it and to top it all an airline that is truly hospitable. India continues to be one of SriLanka’s most significant source markets for international travellers and as awareness of this lovely neighbouring holiday destination grows, Indians should surely explore the island nation.

Much of course has changed in the two decades. However, as a specially curated experience, the highlight of which was a four- course meal of  the best of Sri Lankan cuisine  hosted by Sri Lankan Airlines at the Leela Kempinski Gurugram has only reinforced the feeling that the experience has only got better, much better.

The inflow of tourists from India to SriLanka it seems  has increased considerably in the last few months, with SriLanka being one of the first few countries to open borders and welcome fully vaccinated Indian travellers.

  SriLankan Airlines assured Indian travellers that the Airline is committed to increase the flights to destinations that were temporarily halted due to the pandemic, restore operations to pre-COVID-19 levels, and offer Indian travellers a wide range of  connections to SriLanka.

 Chairman, Ashok Pathirage, emphasised  that” India is our biggest market, and we intend to fully re-establish operations  We continued to operate both passenger and cargo flights to and from India even during periods of lockdown and despite many global travel restrictions.

 When global aviation was at its lowest point, SriLankan Airlines continued to launch flights to new destinations including to Nairobi; Korea; Moscow; Frankfurt; Sydney; Kathmandu; and Paris during 2020 and 2021, with more destination in the pipeline. SriLankan Airlines’ global network expanded significantly, and all new destinations were introduced after thorough studies of factors such as demand, frequency and response. The new routes are indicative of the Airline’s continuous commitment to enhance its network and the travel options available to its passengers worldwide. SriLankan currently operates out of the following Indian cities: Chennai; Tiruchirappalli; Madurai; Bangalore; Hyderabad; Trivandrum; Kochi; Delhi and Mumbai. The Airline introduced a special “buy one and get one free” offer to Indian travelers in the past four months to entice them to travel to Colombo and beyond on SriLankan Airlines. The offer was timed along with the Sri Lankan Government’s announcement to reopen the island to fully vaccinated Indian tourists and was very successful. Furthermore, the Airline increased its frequency of flights from and to India to bring about greater convenience and choice to Indian passengers. Currently, SriLankan Airlines operates flights from 9 cities in India with 54 weekly flights.