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SriLankan Airlines to resume Bombay, Trichy flights

Christine Jayasinghe in Colombo

SriLankan Airlines will resume flights to Bombay and Tiruchirapalli, among the destinations axed after Tamil Tiger rebels blasted half the carrier's 12-plane fleet.

Mumbai and Tiruchirapalli, also known as Trichy, have been added to the flight schedule with the induction of a short-haul Airbus A320, one of the planes partially damaged in the attack by Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam, the airline said.

SriLankan flights will operate to Mumbai Tuesdays and Sundays, and Trichy Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The airline will also operate twice-weekly non-stop Tokyo-Male flights early next month, bypassing Colombo, officials said Thursday.

An airline statement said "a large number of Japanese travel to Male, (but) in view of the current situation in Colombo where a travel warning has been issued by the Japanese government discouraging citizens from travelling to Sri Lanka" they are wary of transiting in the city.

A similar Colombo-London-Male flight will begin operating later in September. Hundreds of British tourists fled in panic when Tiger rebels attacked the Bandaraniake International Airport in Colombo July 24 and London issued a harsh travel warning against visiting the island.

Of the airlines' 12 aircraft, guerrillas had shelled six planes that were parked there. Four planes were completely destroyed. The airline has no immediate plans to replace them.

Earlier this month, SriLankan had announced resumption of flights to New Delhi and some other overseas destinations in September. Flights to New Delhi will take off from September 2, while Paris and Abu Dhabi will be added later in the month.

But while chopping several overseas destinations to accommodate a reduced fleet in the aftermath of the attack, the airline had not discontinued flights to Madras and Thiruvananthapuram.

Sri Lanka's tourism industry took a heavy blow after the guerrilla raid with several countries like the US, Britain, Australia and Germany issuing warnings to their citizens against travelling to the island. The carrier, managed by Dubai-based Emirates Airlines, now has a long-haul A340, along with the A320, repaired by French engineers and technicians from Airbus Industrie.

Indo-Asian News Service

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