SriLankan Airlines commences services to Lahore

SriLankan Airlines will enhance its focus on Asia by commencing services between the Pakistani city of Lahore and Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo from today.

SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ajith Dias said: “This is an important step in our strategy of increasing our focus on Asia, from the Middle East in the west to China and Japan in the east. In addition, as we announced previously, we are taking over operations of Mihin Lanka, in accordance with our Government’s policy.”

The route will be served by SriLankan’s medium haul fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. SriLankan already has a daily service to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and commercial centre.

SriLankan Airlines CEO Captain Suren Ratwatte added: “We are delighted to begin services to Lahore, which is the second largest metropolitan area in Pakistan. We will be closely evaluating market opportunities in Lahore and other South Asian cities, and adding more destinations and frequencies. This further cements our burgeoning partnership with Pakistan International Airlines with whom we expect further cooperation.”

The service will be twice-weekly for the first month of operation, with flights on Tuesday and Thursday, and will then be increased to thrice-weekly starting from 30 October with a change to flights on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Flights will depart Colombo at 20:10 hours, arrive in Lahore at 23:35, depart Lahore at 00:35 the next day and arrive in Colombo at 05:05.

Lahore is the capital of the Punjab Province with a population in excess of 10 million.

With the addition of Lahore, SriLankan will expand its network to 100 destinations in 48 countries. SriLankan is a member of the prestigious oneworld global airline alliance.