SriLankan Airlines will resume its flights between Abu Dhabi and Colombo this month after a 42-day operational suspension.
The airline stopped operating to Abu Dhabi last month when almost half of its aircraft fleet was damaged or destroyed in a terrorist attack at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo on July 23, a report said. An official of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi said: "Flights to Abu Dhabi were temporarily halted soon after the terrorist attack." Announcing the new flight schedule, the official said that SriLankan would operate two flights a week from September 3 between the two capitals, using Airbus A330-200 aircraft. There will be one flight every Monday, returning to Colombo via Muscat. The other flight will be every Wednesday and, on its way back to the Sri Lankan capital, it will go via Dubai. "The large Sri Lankan community in Abu Dhabi and the other emirates will be pleased with the resumption of the flights," said the official, adding that the airline's flights were equally popular with people of other nationalities. Meanwhile, all airlines operating through Sri Lanka have raised their fares after insurance companies raised premiums on flights operating out of Colombo airport.