Azur Air commences direct flights to Colombo

Opening up Eastern bloc tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka, Russia’s largest charter airline, Azur Air commenced direct flights to Colombo with 335 passengers. The airline’s first flight was given the traditional water cannon salute. Here some of the passengers and crew being welcomed at the Bandaranaike International Airport on Thursday. Pix: T. K. G. Kapila, Katunayake corr.