With Sri Lankan airline Mihin Lanka set to commence operations in Oman from October 25, passengers from the Sultanate will now be able to travel to the country at cheaper base rates, starting at OMR6.

“The base ticket rates will start from OMR6. If we add other charges also, it will come to around OMR45. Such cheap rates will be a blessing for passengers travelling to south Indian destinations,” Deepal Pallegangoda, country manager of Mihin Lanka in Muscat, told the Times of Oman.

“Moreover, the airline will allow baggage of up to 50 kilograms (kg), including the hand baggage, for economy class passengers and 60kg for business class passengers,” Deepal added.

The Muscat-Colombo-Muscat flight operations will start from October 25, with four flights per week and from November 25, the airline will start flying five flights per week.

Initially, the flights will depart on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Later, they will depart on Wednesday as well.

“The passengers will be provided connectivity flights on single tickets purchased from Muscat to south Indian destinations, such as Kochi, Trivandrum, Madurai, Chennai, Trichy and Bangalore via Colombo,” Deepal said, adding that the move was a part of the airline’s five-year expansion plan to achieve greater growth, whilst enhancing connectivity throughout the region.

Meanwhile, Ingird Guruge, marketing consultant for Mihin Lanka, said there was a 52 per cent increase in the number of Omani passengers travelling to Sri Lanka in 2014, compared with 2013.

Tourist destination

“We are expecting more because the rates will be cheaper in Mihin Lanka. Moreover, Sri Lanka is one of the best tourist destinations in South Asia. Omanis prefer the country for its natural beauty,” Guruge said.

According to airline officials, Sri Lanka’s Tourism Ministry is planning to increase the room capacity to 45,000 by 2016.

(Times of Oman)