“Despite the COVID epidemic, SriLankan Airlines has introduced direct flights to eight new destinations,” said Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga. Ranatunga also stated that SriLankan Airlines intends to commence flights to five proposed destinations in the future.
Ranatunga made this observation at a special discussion held in Paris recently on the occasion of the launch of new flights between Sri Lanka and France after six years. Representatives of several leading travel companies in France were present at the event.
SriLankan Airlines has recently launched new flights to Hong Kong, Korea, Kenya, Germany, Russia, Australia, Nepal and France. The Minister said that in the future, five new flights are planned to Vietnam, India, China and Israel. A special program is already underway to increase the number of passengers using SriLankan Airlines and to increase freight. SriLankan Airlines is working to introduce new destinations to promote tourism in Sri Lanka. Many long-term and short-term plans are being implemented for this purpose.
Ranatunga pointed out that the National Airlines played a major role in the COVID situation and took steps to bring back Sri Lankans who could not come to Sri Lanka safely during the pandemic. Ranatunga said that SriLankan Airlines carried out these activities despite the risks brought about by the pandemic and the imposition of restrictions along international borders and the closure of international airports.
Ranatunga pointed out that the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is currently recovering gradually and expects it to be fully recovered within the next year.
He said that France was one of the top 10 tourist destinations for Sri Lanka during that period and hoped that more French tourists would visit Sri Lanka shortly.
The Minister was accompanied by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to France and UNESCO Permanent Representative Prof. Kshanika Hiramburegama, the Chairman of SriLankan Airlines Ashok Pathirage, the CEO Vipula Goonetileke, and the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority Upul Dharmadasa.
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