Srilankan opens office in Hambantota

SriLankan Airlines established its presence in southern Hambantota, with the opening of a new sales office on Friday and ahead of the planned opening of the first phase of the new Mattala airport in November-December this year.

The branch office will facilitate travel formalities to a large clientele in the South- eastern coast area. The modern facility is equipped to handle reservations, ticketing, Prepaid Ticket Advices (PTAs), requests for special services, information on fares, schedules and packages - essentially offering the same sales activity carried out by any city office of the airline, according to a media release from the national airline.

SriLankan has appointed Classic Travel (Pvt) Limited, a fully owned subsidiary of the Expolanka Holdings conglomerate, as its Passenger Sales Agency (PSA) to spearhead the operation. A sister company of Classic Travel, Expolanka Freight, has been the PSA for SriLankan Cargo in Hambantota for the past two years. "Hambantota is one of five proposed metro- cities and will be a major hub for economic activity in the future.

Also, with the city gearing up to operate the country’s second international airport, the timing of this launch could not be more perfect. We are confident that this initiative will bring more opportunities to SriLankan, fuel the company’s growth, and offer the people of Hambantota better travel opportunities," said SriLankan’s Head of Worldwide Sales, Lal Perera.

The office was officially opened by Lal Perera, Director of Classic Travel Saif Yusoof and Director and CEO of Classic Travel Suresh Mendis. Also in attendance were Saminda Perera, the SriLankan sales team and a management team from Classic Travel.