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The inaugural flight being welcomed with a celebratory water cannon salute upon arrival at BIA yesterday
Swiss International Airlines, a member of Lufthansa Group, yesterday began weekly direct flights to Sri Lanka in time for the start of the winter season.
The inaugural flight from Zurich to Colombo, LX 8064, operated by an Airbus 340, touched down at 7:30 a.m. with 96 holidaymakers from Switzerland and across Europe.
They were greeted by State Minister of Aviation D.V. Chanaka, Swiss Ambassador in Colombo Dominic Furgler, senior officials of Airport and Aviation Services (Lanka) Ltd., Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) and Sri Lanka Tourism.
The State Minister said the commencement of operations by Swiss International Airlines between Colombo and Zurich would help boost the tourism industry post-pandemic in Sri Lanka.
“The tourism industry is ready to serve the world with authentic Sri Lankan hospitality. We are a nation of resilient people and Sri Lanka will bounce back from the setback of the pandemic,” Chanaka told the Daily FT.
He also said that this milestone would help to bolster potential to support an increase in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka and to strengthen economic cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, finance, education and culture between Switzerland and Sri Lanka.
Customers departing to Zurich will have access to Lufthansa Group’s vast European network with excellent flight connections to almost every other European country. The airline resumed operations to Sri Lanka after a lapse of two years.
“Gauging from the interest demonstrated now by potential visitors to the country, we are optimistic and could revisit this plan in the not-too-distant future,” United Ventures – the General Sales Agent (GSA) for Lufthansa Group in Sri Lanka – Chairperson and Managing Director Parveen Dassenaike said.
Lufthansa Group Airlines partnered with United Ventures as its new GSA for the Sri Lankan market in September.
The weekly service to Colombo every Friday with a capacity of 314 seats will feature 27 seats in Business Class and 287 in Economy. The economy cabin includes 70 seats with an extra recline and legroom.
Switzerland now allows fully-vaccinated third-country nationals from outside the European Union without quarantine requirements. This means passengers arriving from Sri Lanka will be able to enter Switzerland normally again, given they can provide either a certificate of full COVID-19 vaccination, full recovery from a COVID-19 infection, or by presenting a negative rapid antigen or PCR test result prior to boarding their flight from Colombo.
The State Minister also said the Government took much effort to ensure that the airports in the country were being operated in compliance with the international standards of health and safety.
“Plans are underway to upgrade the aviation industry in Sri Lanka by introducing new technology and digitalising our airports to give a seamless passenger experience,” Chanaka said.
Earlier, the airline was scheduled to operate a twice-weekly service year-round pre-COVID pandemic.
The distance from Zurich to Colombo is 8,023 km/4,332 nautical miles with an estimated flight time of nine hours and 56 minutes. Zurich serves as a convenient hub to the rest of Europe and the Americas, and Swiss is offering attractive and competitive fares on its services.
State Minister of Aviation D.V. Chanaka and Switzerland Ambassador Dominic Furgler with the inaugural flight passengers at the airport
