SkyUp’s new charter programme to increase tourist arrivals from Ukraine

Sri Lanka is gearing up to welcome an increasing number of tourists from Ukraine, with SkyUp Airlines having once again launched a charter programme to the island nation. 

Under the programme, the low-cost airline will offer a 10-day round trip from Kyiv to Hambantota till March 17, 2022. The first set of travellers under the offer arrived at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, on December 28, 2021. 

A similar programme was launched by SkyUp Airlines in December 2020, when Sri Lanka opened its doors to international travellers, following the COVID-19 outbreak. 

Flights from the Ukrainian airline will operate on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, every week till March 2022. The duration of the journey will be 10 hours and 40 minutes, with a technical stop at Sharjah International Airport, United Arab Emirates.  A statement to the media by SkyUp Airlines implied that the charter programme was initiated due to the increasing number of tourists from that country visiting Sri Lanka.  Statistics from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority show Ukraine as one of Sri Lanka’s top five source markets for tourism for 2021. 
For the January-November 2021 period, Sri Lanka welcomed a total of 3,475 tourists from Ukraine.