Srilankan Airlines will be commencing daily flights on the Muscat-Colombo sector from May onwards. 

Siva Ramachandran, chief commercial officer of Srilankan Airlines told the Muscat Daily that “We plan to start daily flights from Oman and Bahrain from May onwards after the airport in Colombo is completely opened. We currently operate five flights a week.”

The airport is partially closed for renovation work. Ramachandran, a seasoned aviation professional, who was visiting Oman to discuss the possibility of cooperation with other airlines in the region said, “We have had meetings for code sharing on different routes and the other reason was to revive cooperation as Mihin Lanka was operating on these routes. “We currently have 80 per cent seat load factor.”

Speaking about Oman, he said, “The potential in Oman has not been tapped to maximum. When we look at possible opportunities, we would like to explore the options and we have also thought of Salalah as a destination in the future. “We need to optimise the product. In future, we can increase the seat capacity too.”

The country has a restructuring strategy in place to make a comeback, “We have acquired Mihin Lanka’s routes. Our losses have reduced considerably. In 2017-18, we will be heading towards a progressive financial condition while we will be breaking even in 2018-19.” The traffic from the Gulf has increased considerably as Sri Lanka is becoming a great tourist destination, infrastructure is improving and hotels are coming up with better and bigger properties.

Ramachandran said, “We are cutting down on non-profit routes and concentrating on what brings more money per seat. “We encourage tour operators to offer a variety of packages by attracting a diversified tourist segment and encourage more people to explore the country as a tourist destination.