Cinnamon Air launches seasonal scheduled flights to Castlereagh, Southern Coast

Castlereagh aerial view​

Cinnamon Air

Cinnamon Air (www.cinnamonair.com), Sri Lanka’s premier domestic airline, is pleased to announce the launch of seasonal daily scheduled flights between Colombo, Castlereagh Reservoir and the Southern Coastal city of Koggala from 15 December 2015 to 31 March 2016.     

Cinnamon Air will operate its luxurious and powerful Cessna 208 Caravan Amphibian aircraft on the scheduled flights between Colombo, Castlereagh Reservoir and Koggala which will drastically reduce the travel time between the tea country and the Southern Coast. In addition to stress-free and significantly shorter journeys, passengers travelling with Cinnamon Air will be treated to stunning aerial views of the island as well as the thrilling experience of taking off and landing on water. 

Flights will originate from Cinnamon Air’s luxurious domestic terminal at the Bandaranaike International Airport at 10.00 a.m. and will travel to Castlereagh Reservoir, reaching the tranquil hill station at 10.30 a.m. The flight will then depart for Koggala at 10.45 a.m., touching down on the Southern Coast at 11.15 a.m.

Flying between Castlereagh Reservoir and Koggala takes a mere 30 minutes compared to approximately six hours by road, and affords clients an effortless means to explore nearby destinations including the historical city of Galle, a famed UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as the peaceful beaches of Thalpe and the growing surfing and whale-watching hub of Mirissa. 

Commenting on the introduction of daily scheduled flights between Castlereagh Reservoir and the Southern Coast, Resplendent Ceylon Managing Director Malik Fernando said: “These new flights will be a boon to the time-strapped luxury traveller and will be the lynchpin of our unique tea and sea experience. Ceylon Tea Trails guests will be dropped off near the lake in front of their bungalow and later whisked away to Cape Weligama through Koggala, flying over tea carpeted mountains and Adams Peak en route an amazing experience.”

Cinnamon Air Director Romesh David said: “Cinnamon Air has recognised that high end visitors patronising the premium luxury properties surrounding the Castlereagh Reservoir and within close proximity to Koggala are becoming weary of the arduous journey they must endure in order to travel between the two locations, and that in order to make the most of their time in Sri Lanka a fast and luxurious transport mechanism between the two key tourist locations was required. The introduction of a daily scheduled service on this route highlights Cinnamon Air’s commitment to continually expanding its domestic route network and its efforts to develop Sri Lanka’s growing tourism infrastructure and image as a complete and easily explorable holiday destination.”

All Cinnamon Air scheduled flights operate in code share with SriLankan Airlines, consequent to which they are also available for sale throughout the SriLankan Airlines network and all travel agents around the world through Global Distribution Systems, under a ‘UL’ designated flight number. 

Cinnamon Air, owned and operated by Saffron Aviation Ltd., is a joint venture between Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerate, John Keells Holdings, MMBL Leisure Holdings (a part of the Mercantile Merchant Bank Group) and Phoenix Ventures (parent of the Brandix Group, Sri Lanka’s largest garment manufacturer). 

The airline operates a fleet of two Cessna 208 amphibian aircraft and one Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft, with scheduled services to key inland points in Sri Lanka. Cinnamon Air also offers charter services to and between all airports and water aerodromes in Sri Lanka. The airline is based out of Katunayake where it operates a dedicated domestic terminal (within the precincts of the BIA) and also has its own purpose-built hangar and maintenance facilities.