March 2013 will see the launch of the first and only scheduled domestic carrier in Sri Lanka.

Cinnamon Air is the brainchild and joint venture of the parent company behind Sri Lankan owned and operated Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts and Chaaya Hotels & Resorts – John Keells Holdings – MMBL Leisure Holdings and Phoenix Ventures Limited.

The service, operated by Saffron Aviation, will provide a unique timetable of scheduled daily flights linking the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo with key holiday locations on the South West coast, the East Coast (in the summer season), Kandy, the Cultural Triangle and Hambantota/Yala. 

With no destination taking longer than 60 minutes to reach, flights to and from BIA will largely connect with arrival and departure flight timings of the national carrier and all major international airlines serving Colombo. 

Filling a void in the current tourism offering in Sri Lanka, accessibility for visitors will be much improved with this new and efficient transfer experience.

The service will significantly reduce the time spent on road transfers between the airport and hotels and on excursions, while at the same time, allowing visitors to discover the incredible diversity of the island scenically and with ease. 

The start-up fleet – operated by Saffron Aviation – will consist of two Cessna 208 Caravan Amphibian aircraft (seating nine passengers each) and one wheeled Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft (seating 12 passengers), allowing the airline the flexibility to operate from any of the domestic and international airports as well as from waterdromes in Sri Lanka.

The scheduled services will be retailed through all tour operators and travel agents and directly to customers via the website.