Israeli airline Arkia is to launch the first scheduled nonstop service between Tel Aviv and Sri Lanka during the fourth quarter of the year.
Flights connecting Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) and Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport will operate twice a week using Airbus A321neo aircraft from Oct. 31. Service on the 3,358-mi. (2,918-nm) sector will be offered from TLV on Tuesdays and Saturdays, returning the following day.
Colombo will become the farthest point in Arkia’s network and one of only two destinations in the Asia-Pacific region to be served by the airline this winter, alongside Goa, India. Flights from Tel Aviv to Goa Airport will commence on Nov. 1, operating once a week.
Arkia’s planned growth in the Asia market comes six months after Oman opened its airspace for all carriers, including Israeli airlines, marking the latest sign of improving diplomatic relations in the region. The decision by the Gulf state followed a U.S.-brokered agreement last year by Saudi Arabia to open its airspace.
Israeli carriers are therefore now able to use a Saudi-Oman corridor, allowing them to fly over the Arabian peninsula for the first time. Flight times to destinations in Asia have been reduced by hours as a result, paving the way for airlines to explore new routes.
O&D traffic between Israel and Sri Lanka totaled 22,123 two-way passengers in 2022, compared with 31,500 in 2019 before the pandemic. In the absence of nonstop service, Dubai International was the largest one-stop connecting market last year, followed by Abu Dhabi International.
The route between Tel Aviv and Colombo is likely to attract outbound leisure traffic from Israel, as well as inbound religious, VFR and migrant labor traffic. The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Israel estimates there are more than 6,000 care-givers and agricultural workers from the country in Israel.
Arkia’s new route comes after Israeli counterpart El Al Israel Airlines said it plans to serve the Philippine capital city Manila and Melbourne in Australia as it grows its footprint in Asia. Flights to Tokyo Narita commenced in March 2023, while New Delhi joins El Al’s network in October, alongside the resumption of service to Mumbai, India.
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