Changi Airport officially welcomes Sri Lanka’s Mihin Lanka airline

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) hosted an official welcoming ceremony for Sri Lanka’s Mihin Lanka airline last week.

As the second international carrier from Sri Lanka to fly to Singapore, the state-owned airline first began operating six weekly flights between Singapore and Colombo on 24 September last year. Mihin Lanka joins three other airlines – including Singapore Airlines, Sri Lankan Airlines and Emirates – on the route, bringing the number of weekly flights to 42.

(from left) Director-General & CEO of CAAS, Mr Lim Kim Choon; CEO of Mihin Lanka, Mr Sajin de Vass Gunawardena; and High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Singapore, His Excellency Shehan Ratnavale.

The CAAS’ Director-General and CEO, Lim Kim Choon said, “The launch of Mihin Lanka’s services comes at an opportune time as passenger traffic between Singapore and Sri Lanka has grown by 30 percent over the past 4 years to reach 275,000 movements for the first 11 months of 2007. Between January and November 2007, there were over 70,000 visitor arrivals from Sri Lanka, representing a robust 10 percent growth year-on-year.”

Lim believes that visitor arrivals from Sri Lanka to Singapore will grow further in the coming years with the new tourism developments taking place in Singapore. These include the Singapore Flyer, Formula 1 Grand Prix and the Integrated Resorts.