Air Arabia will resume flights to Sri Lanka's Mattala airport, Minister says:
Air Arabia, the Sharjah-based United Arab Emirates' national budget airline, which recently cancelled its services to Sri Lanka's newly opened second international airport at Mattala in Hambantota, would resume flights to Mattala shortly.
Aviation Minister Priyankara Jayaratne said the government had agreed to an open skies policy with Air Arabia and the airline has agreed to resume flights to Mattala.
He said the CEO of Air Arabia will visit Sri Lanka on the 15th of this month for further discussions.
Air Arabia cancelled its Sharjah - Mattala/Hambantota route, just 6 weeks after it became the first foreign carrier to service the newest international airport in Sri Lanka. Earlier it had planned to increase services to Mattala four times a week from May 19 to accommodate summer travel.
The Minister also noted that four other Middle Eastern airlines have also expressed interest in operating flights to Mattala.
Speaking of the traffic to the new airport, the Minister said there have been about 6,000 passenger movements at the Mattala Airport since its opening in March.
He said the government did not expect a heavy flow of incoming air traffic at Mattala immediately since it is still a new airport.
Currently SriLankan Airlines, Mihin Lanka, and Fly Dubai operate flights to Mattala.
Category: Local, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, Sri lanka news
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