SRI Lanka’s newest domestic airline, Cinnamon Air, will kickstart operations end-June with daily scheduled flights to the southern and central parts of the country.
The airline will launch daily flights from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to Koggala and Dickwella using an eight-seater Cessna 208 Amphibious aircraft. From July, it will also commence daily scheduled flights from BIA to Kandy via Colombo.
Services to Sigiriya, Batticaloa and Trincomalee will start after the delivery of a eight-seater Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft.
Cinnamon Air is owned and operated by Saffron Aviation, a joint venture between John Keells Holdings and two other local companies.
Mahen Kariyawasan, president, Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators, welcomed the development, saying it would sharply cut travel time to outlying areas and help the top-end market tremendously.
“It would be a boost (in facilitating travel from) emerging markets such as South Korea, where the target is to reach 15,000 arrivals this year, from 7,000 previously. South Koreans spend just three to four days here (unlike the 12-14 day tours by Western tourists) and faster transportation like this is essential,” he said.
At present, three operators run domestic services: Expo Air, which has been operating daily flights to northern Jaffna; Simplify, which operates helicopter charters; and Cinnamon Air.
“Departure and arrival times of Cinnamon Air’s flights from and to BIA will be synchronised as closely as possible with the arrival and departure times of SriLankan Airlines and most major international carriers serving Colombo,” the airline said in a media statement.
