SRI LANKAN Airlines will launch flights to Moscow, Russia, on September 17, the 52nd destination of the airline.
The new service will operate via Dubai and will commence initially with two flights per week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The carrier’s chairman, Nishantha Wickremasinghe, said: “We are delighted to announce the launch of services to Moscow. This will be the first time in history that our national carrier has served Russia and will no doubt serve to greatly strengthen the close relationship between our two nations.”
SriLankan Airlines has been expanding steadily in recent months and launched services to Shanghai last July, Guangzhou in January and Kochi in March. It will acquire at least six aircraft this year and has been increasing capacity throughout its global route network since last December.
Tourism to Sri Lanka has been booming since the dawn of permanent peace in the Indian Ocean island two years ago. Arrivals grew by 34 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, after setting an all time record of 654,000 in 2010.
The number of visitors from Russia grew by 21 per cent in the first quarter of 2010 and by 22 per cent from other countries in Eastern Europe. The airline already serves five European cities – London, Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Milan - with plans to commence services to several more.