Arkia Airlines announced on Monday afternoon that it will begin direct flights from Israel to Sri Lanka beginning end October.
Initially, the airline will operate a weekly flight from Tel Aviv on Tuesdays and from Sri Lanka on Wednesdays. The flight duration to Sri Lanka is six hours and fifteen minutes. The inaugural flight on this new route is set for October 31. The flights will be operated using the company’s Airbus A321neo aircraft. Sri Lanka is especially popular among surfers and Arkia stated that it will offer the option to transport personal surfboards.
This will be the first time an Israeli company operates direct flights to Sri Lanka. Until now, Israelis wishing to travel to Sri Lanka had to take connecting flights, most often via the United Arab Emirates, but Istanbul and Addis Ababa are also popular stopover points en-route from Israel to Sri Lanka. Another option is to get there via one of the Far East countries.
Sri Lanka is one of the popular destinations in the East, with tens of thousands of Israelis travelling there each year. (Foreign Media)