SriLankan Airlines, the flag carrier of Sri Lanka going to operate regular Colombo-Kathmandu-Colombo flights from August 31, 2021.
The company has appointed Zenith Travel as a GSA for Nepal.
Deepak Mainali, manager of Zenith Travel, said that the company would start the Colombo-Kathmandu flight from next Tuesday after getting approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal for regular flights. “Sri Lanka has got flight slots two days a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays,” he said.
He said regular flights to Sri Lanka would be launched to promote religious tourism between the two countries. There is the good numbers of workers travelling to Gulf countries from Nepal. SriLankan Airlines has also announced plans to provide Colombo transit services to Gulf countries.
SriLankan Airlines has targeted a destination that is difficult for Nepali Airlines to expand even after planning.
The company will initially fly from Kathmandu to two Saudi destinations, Dammam and Riyadh. He informed that regular flights would be started to five destinations, including Dubai, Maldives, and Qatar. The initial fare for Dammam and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been set at Rs 51,000, Rs 65,000, and Rs 23,000 for Doha.
Similarly, the company has fixed an initial fare of Rs 46,000 for flights to the Maldives.
The service to Saudi, Doha, and Maldives will be started immediately by making Colombo transit and focusing on the general labor market.
We will have regular flights to destinations including Australia, London, and Japan from the second week of September. As soon as the corona will ease, we plan to fly to the Maldives.,” said General Manager Mainali.
Three decades ago, a Boeing 727 of the Nepal Airlines Corporation used to fly to this destination once a week. The corporation’s Boeing flew Kathmandu-Colombo-Male.
SriLankan Airlines is going to operate regular flights in Nepal for the first time.