DUBAI: This week, Emirates celebrated thirty years of flights to Sri Lanka. Its first flight was on April 1st, 1986, when an Emirates Boeing 727-200 Flight EK800 departed Dubai International Airport touching down in Colombo, Emirates’ fourth global destination.
The airline has already announced it will increase capacity further with the addition of a fifth daily flight between Colombo and Dubai from 1st August 2016.
“We would like to thank all our customers and industry partners in Sri Lanka for their long-standing support over the years. We are proud to contribute to the country’s thriving tourism and trade industry, connecting Sri Lanka with more than 150 destinations across six continents. Over the past few decades, we introduced new products on the route and provided an award-winning in-flight and on ground experience to Sri Lankan travellers. It’s been a remarkable journey and we look forward to offering further choice and excellent value for money to our customers in Sri Lanka,” said Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ senior vice president, Commercial operations- West Asia and Indian Ocean.
Emirates has recorded solid year-on-year growth in Sri Lanka over the years, carrying nearly four million passengers on the route in the last two and half decades. Sri Lanka has also emerged as an important cargo destination for the airline in the region as Emirates SkyCargo continues to be a preferred carrier for the country’s exports.
