SriLankan Airlines posts 26% rise in passengers from Middle East

SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, records a 26 per cent increase in the number of passengers from the Middle East this year compared to 2011-2012.

During 2012-2013, SriLankan Airlines carried 463,999 passengers from nine destinations in the Middle East compared to 342,290 passengers during 2011-2012. Overall, passenger traffic from the Middle East has contributed the second highest revenue to the national carrier’s network, next to the Far East.

Speaking about the latest figures, Nishantha Wickramasinghe, Chairman, SriLankan Airlines said: “SriLankan Airlines recognizes the Middle East as one of the fastest growing markets. The recent increase in traffic can be attributed to both the domestic and leisure segments.

“The Middle East is home to many thousands of Sri Lankans who are working across the region and with flying time at only over four-hours from any major city in the GCC, Sri Lanka is an ideal short haul destination for all types of travellers from the region seeking long weekend rejuvenation, gourmet, cultural and outdoor luxury experiences.”

Currently, SriLankan Airlines flies to 64-destinations across 34 countries. Within the Middle East, the airline operates 48 flights a week into five GCC countriesacross eight destinations, including; Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE, Kuwait, Doha in Qatar, Muscat in Oman and Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A codeshare with Royal Jordanian enables passenger traffic from Amman, Jordan.

With tourism traffic to Sri Lanka rapidly increasing, the country’s government has placed tourism and infrastructure development as top priorities, aiming for 2.5 million tourists and for the current number of hotel rooms to triple by 2016, with revenues from tourism to reach $2.5 billion.

In March 2013, Sri Lanka’s second international ‘gateway’, the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) was opened in southeast Sri Lanka with both SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka commencing operations. SriLankan Airlines provides exclusive facilities for all airlines which operate out of MRIA including Ground Handling, Catering, Engineering and Cargo. The national carrier is also looking at setting up a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility through partnership with a leading technical provider.

Wickramasinghe added: “The opening of the new Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport serves to strengthen our position in South Asia, as we work towards establishing a regional aviation hub, offering academic and training centres that will eventually expand to serve the region.”

SriLankan Airlines currently operates a fleet of 21 aircraft – including wide-bodied A340 and A330 aircraft as well as mid-range A320s. Recently, new A320-200s and A330-200s have been added to the fleet, replacing existing aircraft with fuel-efficient, modern aircraft. Through progressive replacement over a period of 10-years, by 2023, Sri Lanka’s national carrier aims to have a full fleet of Next-Generation aircraft.
 

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