Air Arabia Abu Dhabi is adding a new nonstop link between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Sri Lanka from early next year as it continues to expand its route map further east.
The LCC plans to make Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB)—serving Sri Lanka's capital—the 34th destination in its network from Jan. 3, 2024. Flights from Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) will operate three times per week using Airbus A320 aircraft.
The service will provide direct competition for SriLankan Airlines, which serves the CMB-AUH sector six times per week onboard A320s and A330-300s at present. Etihad Airways will also resume nonstop daily flights between the destinations in December, replacing its current one-stop routing via Male, Maldives.
Additionally, five operators offer nonstop Dubai-Colombo service, including double-daily Emirates Airline flights, while Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s sister carrier Air Arabia flies to Sri Lanka’s capital from Sharjah.
Once operations begin, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi will become the sole provider of low-cost capacity between Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka. Rival Wizz Air Abu Dhabi previously announced plans to connect AUH and Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, in the south of Sri Lanka, from June 2022, but the route failed to materialize.
As well as attracting leisure traffic, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi will target the flows of migrant labor between Sri Lanka and the UAE. An estimated 250,000 Sri Lankans live and work in the UAE.
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