Aeroflot resumes flights to Sri Lanka raising hopes

Seventy-five per cent of tickets on Russia’s flag carrier Aeroflot to Sri Lanka between November to March has already been booked, a spokesman for the airline said today.
 
Ending a four-month suspension on flights to Sri Lanka Aeroflot today had its first flight with 252 passengers. Initially, it will be two flights per week on Monday and Friday and then increased to three 
flights from early next month.
 
A welcome ceremony attended by Tourism Minister Harin Fernando was held at the airport for passengers and 12 crew members. 
 
A spokesman for the airline told journalists that during the winter season they would have three regular flights on Monday, Wednesday and Friday to Colombo. 
 
Minister Fernando told journalists that several other flights too have been planned to operate flights to Sri Lanka during the upcoming winter season raising hopes to reviving the tourism industry.
 
Meanwhile, permission has also been granted to another Russian airline, Azur Air to perform four charter flights per week starting from early November. 
 
Aeroflot suspended commercial flights to Sri Lanka in June this year “due to the unreliability of the situation in terms of ensuring unhindered flights of the airline’s aircraft to Sri Lanka.” This was after the Colombo Commercial High Court issued an enjoining order preventing an Aeroflot flight from leaving Sri Lanka following a trade dispute. Though the ban was subsequently lifted and the aircraft was allowed to leave the country, the flights remained suspended.