Tourism promotion to kick-start in May

Last year, national carrier SriLankan Airlines pulled out of Europe, barring the UK, to cut losses on uneconomic routes. It ran the only direct flights to Colombo from Paris, Rome and Frankfurt. KLM and Austrian Airlines began flights to Colombo last year.

Mr. Balasubramanian acknowledges that the loss in direct connectivity is always an issue. “Direct air connectivity has grown in importance and is an added factor in going to certain destinations as against having a couple of transfers. But the fact is that these are robust markets in Sri Lanka and despite a near 30-years of instability in the country, these markets have continued to patronize us,” he said.

“Right now SriLankan Airlines is going through a restructuring process. Once that is finalized, we would be in a better position to decide how to bring in direct connectivity. At some point we hope to resume flights,” he added.