China Eastern Airlines to fly daily to Sri Lanka

by Sapumali Galagoda

Eustace Silva

China Eastern Airlines which flies thrice a week to Colombo from Kunming is planning to make it a daily flight by end of April.

“Our main objective is to bring Chinese people to Sri Lanka”, said China Eastern Airlines Director/General Manager Eustace Silva.

“One month ago there was a zero disembarkation in our airlines but now on each flight 15 Chinese come to Sri Lanka. We hope to increase it to 50 in the coming months. The airline is also hoping to open up a branch in the Eastern province in Sri Lanka.”

China Eastern Airlines is one of the largest carriers in China. It has over 350 aircraft and a staff of 50,000. It operates in all five continents.

The Government of China plans to open the single largest airport in Kunming by the end of this year which will cater to the entire Asia region.

“We hope to increase the frequency in flights not only from Kunming but from other cities as well, such as Shanghai and Beijing,” Silva said.

China Eastern Airlines opened their new office premises last week in Colombo 2 with the participation of the China Eastern Airlines staff in Sri Lanka, Chinese Embassy officials in Sri Lanka, travel agencies and banks.