Azur Air flies in over 330 Russian tourists on its return to Sri Lanka

By Deepa Adikari

Russia’s largest charter airline Azur Air yesterday resumed its direct flight services between Moscow and Sri Lanka.

The first flight FZ 1611 arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport 9:30 a.m. and was welcomed with the traditional water salute.

Over 330 Russian tourists arrived in the flight and they were warmly welcomed by the airport officials. 

This new direct flight service has been started with the aim of promoting tourism by giving Russian tourists the experience of visiting Sri Lanka.

Azur Air will be operating in a number of cities, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirik. It is believed that these operations will contribute significantly to improve tourism in Sri Lanka as Russia is one of the most important tourism hubs for the country.

Former Russian Ambassador Udayanga Weerathunga, Tourism Secretary Chulananda Perera and airport officials were present on this occasion.