UL continues to service Moscow; sees sharp rise in demand

• Airfares on route increased, partly driven by higher oil prices

By Shabiya Ali Ahlam
National carrier SriLankan Airlines said it would continue its routes to and from Russia while Western sanctions and geopolitics have made the Russian airspace turbulent.
SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage this week said the carrier would not stop flying to Moscow, given the rising demand for flights. 

“We are continuing to fly to Moscow. We have also increased airfares. I suppose the Russians have no place to go now with not many aircrafts flying in,” Pathirage told Mirror Business on the sidelines of a press conference held in Colombo, this week.

The increase in airfares is also a response to the global surge in crude oil prices. Crude oil prices have reached US $ 130 a barrel. Some analysts suggest price of a crude oil barrel could cross US $ 200 a barrel this year.

“We in fact think that the demand will increase. They (those flying out of Russia) might take this route to go to other countries as well,” Pathirage said.
SriLankan would watch the situation and capitalise accordingly, he added. 

Despite the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, SriLankan Airlines has seen very few cancellations. For the month of March, bookings for the Colombo-Moscow route are operating at near full capacity.

“This month we are almost at 100 percent,” shared Pathirage. In June 2021, SriLankan Airlines resumed flights to the Russian capital Moscow. The route was resumed after a six-year break.

At present, the airline operates weekly scheduled flights between Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) and Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (DME).