TIRUCHY: Sri Lanka-based low-cost carrier FitsAir would begin operations in India on December 8, announced its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Murray Hill here on Friday. While the airline is making its debut with three flights a week along the Tiruchy-Colombo route, plans are on for daily operations and connectivity to other airports of southern India, he added.
At an event here announcing the carrier’s launch, the CEO further said that a plan is on for operations between Tiruchy and Jaffna as well. “In fact, we would soon offer connectivity to Trivandrum, Cochin, Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore from Sri Lanka," he added.
Currently, Sri Lankan Airlines is the lone airline offering connectivity between Tiruchy and Colombo. It operates seven flights a week in the route. With FitsAir’s entry, the number of flights between Tiruchy and Colombo would increase to 10 per week.
FitsAir currently has announced operations in the route on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Travel operators hope FitsAir’s debut would push operations between Tiruchy and Colombo to pre-pandemic level. "Before the pandemic, there were 14 flights a week between Tiruchy and Colombo. We are yet to reach the level due to the economic crisis and the administrative issues in Sri Lanka.
Though IndiGo had operated a flight between Tiruchy and Sri Lanka in January, the economic crisis there forced the airline to stop the operation that same month. If the administrative issues in the island nation are sorted out, several tourists from central Tamil Nadu are likely to visit Sri Lanka during summer holidays. FitsAir’s entry would also be beneficial for Middle East passengers travelling via Colombo," said G Kathiravan, a travel agent.