First regular weekly charter on Tuesday
View(s):The first-ever regular, weekly charter flight by SriLankan Airlines under agreement with travel agents in Sri Lanka and China arrives on July 1. The 140-seater aircraft will carry passengers from Chongqing in south-west China.
This the first ever regular charter flight by SriLankan Airlines under an arrangement with Walkers Tours, the tour operating company of the John Keells Group, and its partner Chongqing Huapont International Travel Service Co. Ltd and will operate between Chongqing and Colombo.
Charters were popular in the pre-war period mostly between European destinations and Colombo. However these disappeared after the war escalated and in the post-war period there have been one-off charters between destinations but not a regular, weekly charter.
China is a growing source market for Sri Lanka, officials said. The number of arrivals from there in January-May this year rose sharply to 43,885 from 18,316, a year-to-date growth of 139.6 per cent.