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Tuesday, 31 October 2023 01:33 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Text and pix by T.K.G. Kapila
After a remarkable 11 years of service to Sri Lanka, Turkish Airlines has ushered in a new era by inaugurating direct flights from Istanbul to Colombo.
This strategic move comes just in time for the upcoming winter season, offering seamless travel for its passengers.
The inaugural direct flight TK-730 departed carrying 261 passengers from Istanbul and arrived in Colombo at 5:40 a.m. yesterday.
The flight, which takes around eight hours, will operate four weekly services on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, with departures from Turkey at 5:40 and returns at 7:40 local time.
With the dedicated flight from Turkey to Sri Lanka, the airline said 100% of seat capacity will be committed to Colombo, which will enable the airline to bring more tourists from Europe to Sri Lanka.
Previously, the airline had a stopover in Male before arriving in Colombo.
The inaugural flight received the traditional water salute and the airline’s crew were received with a warm welcome, followed by a brief media conference.
Officials from the Airport and Aviation Services (Lanka) Ltd. (AASL), Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CASSL), and the travel industry attended the brief ceremony.
The airline said with a legged flight over Male, they were unable to fully utilise their network connectivity, but with the direct flight to Colombo, they will utilise it to boost arrivals from Europe, the US and Canada.
With only a few hours of connection from Istanbul Airport, the airline is keen to optimise its connectivity to bring in passengers from Canada, the UK, the US and Europe.
“This new direct route is set to enhance travel convenience and efficiency for passengers,” they added.
Come 2024, Turkish Airlines is set to start daily services to Colombo further enhancing connectivity between Turkey and Sri Lanka. The expansion is expected to further enhance tourism, trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
AASL Chairman General (Retd.) G.A. Chandrasekara said the direct flight between Istanbul and Colombo marked a significant step forward in the aviation industry underlining the collaborative efforts to promote air travel and connectivity between the two countries.
SLPB Chairman Chalaka Gajabahu pointed out that this was a much-needed boost for the tourism industry which contributes substantially to the economic development.
A total of 209 passengers embarked on the return journey to Istanbul, Turkey.
