Sri Lanka launches domestic airline to cater to tourism boom

COLOMBO: A new domestic airline linking the Colombo international airport and the southern tourist resorts of the island has been launched, officials said today.

Cinnamon Air will launch domestic flights from the end of June.

Cinnamon Air, operating Cessna 208 Amphibious aircraft, will offer daily flights from the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) to Koggala and Dickwella, officials said.

The service would facilitate quick transfers from the airport to other south coast tourist destinations such as Galle, Weligama, Mirissa and Tangalle.

In July, Cinnamon Air will also launch daily flights from BIA to Kandy in the central province.

In April the number of arrivals year-on-year rose by over 14 per cent.

Since the end to armed separatist conflict with the LTTE ( Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)in 2009, Sri Lanka's tourism infrastructure has gone through an overhaul.

More resorts have come up mostly covering the east coast which for 30 years suffered from the destructive armed conflict.