Direct flights between Sri Lanka and France resume

Direct flights between Sri Lanka and France resumed today after 6 years, the Tourism Ministry said.

Accordingly, Sri Lankan Airlines Flight UL 563 took off at 1 am on Sunday from the BIA for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, France.

It takes about 10 hours of flight time to travel between Colombo and France.

A simple ceremony was held at the BIA to mark the launch of direct flights between Sri Lanka and France.

The Minister said that Sri Lankan Airlines will fly from BIA to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, and another Sri Lankan Airlines flight from France to Sri Lanka is scheduled to arrive on the same evening.

The first direct flights between Sri Lanka and France were launched in the 1980s.  Later in 2015, these direct flights were discontinued.

The Ministry said that Sri Lankan Airlines has launched direct flights to various destinations around the world on the instructions of Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga and steps were taken to launch direct flights to a number of new destinations in the future.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES