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NT Bureau
Chennai, Mar 21:

        SriLankan Airlines is adding a third weekly flight to the popular coastal resort of Goa, moving closer to becoming the first scheduled foreign airline to have a hundred flights per week to India.

        Already the foreign carrier with the most frequencies, SriLankan will have 95 flights to 10 cities in India with the addition of 7 more flights to Mumbai last month and the new Goa flight scheduled for 30th March. . SriLankan has 15 weekly flights to Chennai, twice daily to Mumbai, 13 to Trivandrum, 11 to Kochi, 10 to Trichy, 8 to Calicut, and daily to Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.

        Manoj Gunawardena, head of worldwide passenger sales, said, 'customer demand for our services to Goa has been steadily building up and we are very pleased to offer an additional weekly service. This not only brings in greater seat capacity on the route but also gives our customers more flexibility in planning their journeys.'

        Sri Lankan offers rapid connections to Goa in Colombo for flights from Europe, the Middle East, Far East and Southeast Asia. Goa is a popular destination among European tourists, and also Sri Lankans, with its relaxed lifestyle, pristine beaches, vibrant nightlife and excellent hotels. It is also known for its distinct Portuguese architecture and historic Catholic churches.

        Senaka Fernando, regional manager India and Maldives, said: 'We see a large number of Goans taking advantage of our flights to visit Sri Lanka, which is culturally similar, and also travelling onward with us to other parts of the globe. Our latest flight especially enhances connectivity between the Middle East and Goa via Colombo.'

        The third flight will be on Fridays, adding to the current flights on Mondays and Saturdays. Flights, which are of approximately of two hours duration, depart Colombo at 5.45 am and arrive in Goa at 7.35 am. They set out from Goa at 8.30 am and arrive back in Colombo at 10.30 am.

        Amith Sumanapala, general manager of SriLankan Holidays said: 'We have offered a series of excellent value-for-money packages in partnership with Goan resorts, which are very popular. We are also very pleased that Goans snapped up our great offers to exotic destinations in Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and other cities throughout our network.'

        SriLankan has positioned Colombo as the gateway to India. With the launch of services to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia this month, SriLankan serves 51 international destinations in 28 countries. Its domestic service, SriLankan Air Taxi, has 14 destinations within Sri Lanka.