Direct flight to Colombo from Vizag could soon be a reality

Increased international connectivity at the Visakhapatnam airport has attracted interest across the globe and airlines are coming forward to discuss business prospects. Taking this trend forward, Sri Lankan Airlines visited Visakhapatnam to study the potential demand for operation of flights from Visakhapatnam to Colombo here Tuesday. Visakhapatnam MP K Haribabu and other members from the city took part in the meeting and explained the tourism prospects and connectivity of Visakhapatnam airport to other cities of India. The members of the team, Ranga Gunasekara, Mohan Meegolle and Priya Epitawala interacted with Visakhapatnam MP K Hari Babu in his party office along with Vizag Development Council (VDC) vice-chairman O Naresh Kumar and a few others including international tour operators and representatives from business firms from the city. In the meeting, the MP opined that Vizagites and people from regional districts have been spending huge amounts for trips to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and many more places. He also expressed that the scenic beauty in Sri Lanka ensures a lot of scope for Sri Lankan tourism and asked Sri Lankan Airlines to operate a flight to Visakhapatnam airport from Colombo thrice a week, for which he assured complete support from the government. The Sri Lankan crew would also discuss flight operations with the members of Air Travellers Association (ATA) and officials of Visakhapatnam airport Wednesday. Meanwhile, after a brief interaction, the Sri Lankan crew said that they would visit the Port City again and meet with various departments especially the Tourism Department and hotel authorities to take a final decision on the operation of flights to Visakhapatnam. (Express News Service)