Air China, one of China’s largest airlines, is set to launch daily flight operations to Sri Lanka, starting from October 2024.

The announcement was made by former Tourism Minister Harin Fernando on X (formerly Twitter).

The airline’s move represents a significant increase in connectivity between the two nations, as Air China only recently resumed its flights to Sri Lanka, following a brief hiatus. 

In July 2024, the airline restarted its operations with three weekly flights from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport to Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport.

The inaugural flight on July 3, 2024, carried 142 passengers, marking the airline’s return to the island nation.

The decision to increase the frequency of flights is expected to provide a timely boost to air connectivity to further strengthen tourism and trade ties between both countries, with China emerging as one of Sri Lanka’s key tourism markets in recent months.

The provisional data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority showed that from January 01 to September 17, 2024, 92,566 tourists arrived from China. This makes China the fifth largest tourist traffic generator for the island nation.

As a member of the Star Alliance and one of the ‘Big Three’ airlines in mainland China, Air China has an extensive network of domestic and international routes through its operations primarily from Beijing Capital International Airport.

Headquartered in Beijing’s Shunyi District, the airline showcased its global prominence by transporting over 102 million passengers in 2017 alone. (NR)