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Monday, 17 July 2017 00:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Hyderabad (India): GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL), which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), Hyderabad (India), announced Colombo, Sri Lanka as a new destination in its international network.
Starting 12 July, SriLankan Airlines (IATA Code: UL), the national carrier of Sri Lanka, has commenced its non-stop flight between the city of pearls Hyderabad and the island country.
With its fleet of A320 aircraft, SriLankan Airlines would operate four days in a week – Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday – service to Colombo. Sri Lanka is a popular tourist destination in South Asia. India is the No 1 source market for arrival of foreign tourists in Sri Lanka.
The short duration non-stop flights (approx. two hours) and convenient flight timings from Hyderabad will entice tourists especially the large section of young travellers in and around Hyderabad to explore Sri Lanka as a popular weekend getaway. Indian citizens flying to Sri Lanka are eligible to apply for Sri Lanka e-visa online.
Speaking on this occasion, GHIAL CEO S.G.K. Kishore said: “We are very happy to add Sri Lanka to our ever expanding portfolio of international connections. The new service by SriLankan Airlines will help passengers from 13 catchment cities from the South and Central Indian region to have direct connectivity to Sri Lanka, which has emerged as a top tourist destination for Indians.”
Most of the tourists from India visit Sri Lanka to explore its pristine beaches alongside the 1600 km of palm fringed coastline, rich culture and especially to visit places related to the great epic Ramayana which has religious and mythological significance. Sri Lanka has also emerged as a popular destination for meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE), and of course honeymoon couples.
Sri Lanka’s national carrier, SriLankan Airlines, Sunday launched new services from Colombo to Coimbatore, the second-largest city in India’s state of Tamil Nadu.
A traditional water canon salute welcomed the SriLankan Airlines’ inaugural flight UL193 from Colombo which landed at Coimbatore International Airport at 2.35 p.m. It left for Colombo at 3.35 p.m.
The airline will operate four flights per week on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It is hoping to operate daily services by next season.
Chief Commercial Officer Siva Ramachandran said that with the launch of services to Coimbatore, the airline is connecting Tamil Nadu’s second-largest city to the world through its global network.
With the addition of four flights to Coimbatore, the airline operates 126 flights a week between India and Sri Lanka covering 14 destinations. Coimbatore is the 4th destination in Tamil Nadu and14th in the country where SriLankan Airlines operates it services.
The national carrier launched services to India’s fourth-largest city of Hyderabad, the capital of the state of Telangana, on 12 July, offering flights four times a week.
The airline commenced a four-times-a-week service to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on 8 July, connecting the state’s largest city and financial capital to the world through its global route network.
RGIA has handled 15.24 million passengers in FY2016-17, registering a growth of 22% in total passenger traffic and 23% growth in air traffic movement over FY2015-16. The airport connects 18 international destinations with 16 foreign and three Indian carriers and 10 domestic carriers connect Hyderabad with 35 domestic destinations.
