A SriLankan Airlines Airbus A340 touched down at the King Abdulaziz
International Airport this week, marking the launch of the airline’s
twice weekly service to Jeddah.Coinciding with the launch, a fully fledged station office, located at
the Kanoo Tower, Kilo 7 Madina Road will also open its doors to the
public.

Earlier this month SriLankan Airlines signed a code share agreement with
Saudi Arabian Airlines, which allows both airlines to jointly market the
flights.

 

SriLankan Airlines’ Head of Worldwide Passenger Sales, Manoj Gunawardena
said, “This is a significant milestone for SriLankan, taking us a step
closer to giving our passengers in Asia the best connections from their
home country to the Middle East. We are confident that this new route
will be a great success for both our airlines and a greater convenience
for our passengers.”

 

The commercial hub of Saudi Arabia and the principal gateway to Makkah,
the holiest city in Islam, is SriLankan Airlines’ third destination in
Saudi Arabia after Dammam and Riyadh and the ninth in the Middle East.
Other key destinations in the region include Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain,
Doha, Muscat and Kuwait.

 

Jeddah is also the airlines’ 51st destination in a network spanning 28
countries.

 

The launch falls in line with the airline’s 2006 strategy, initiated to
expand its services in the Middle East and increase its leisure travel
focus, catering to Arab nationals, western expatriates and the returning
Asian migrant work population.

 

SriLankan Airlines Regional Manager for Middle East, CIS and Africa,
Mohamed Fazeel said, “We are always looking for new opportunities to
enhance our operations to the Middle East. Adding new destinations and
increasing frequencies to the region is a vital component of our
strategy.

 

The airline’s Colombo hub is ideally positioned to connect Middle East
travellers with seventeen destinations in South Asia and the Far East.

 

The airline has a strong presence in the Indian market as the foreign
carrier with the most number of frequencies, operating 95 weekly flights
into 10 destinations across India. The schedule includes double daily
services to Madras and Mumbai and a daily service to other destinations
in India.

 

SriLankan Airlines also operates a double daily service to the Maldives
and regular services to the Far East including near double daily service
to Malaysia and Singapore and over nine flights to Thailand.

 

Holiday makers can also opt to stop over at Colombo for shopping and a
city expedition or venture inland and explore the island’s wildlife in
the vast national parks for a glimpse of the elusive leopard or the
majestic elephant. Sri Lanka is also home to some the world’s most
exotic birdlife.
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