( Media Release – February 03, 2013)
Cinnamon Air, the newest entrant to Sri Lanka’s skies, will launch scheduled flights to different locations in Sri Lanka by end March, officials said.
The airline is owned by Saffron Aviation (Pvt) Ltd, a joint venture involving MMBL Leisure Holdings Ltd, John Keells Holdings and Phoenix Ventures Ltd.
Saffron Aviation Director Romesh David told the Business Times that they plan daily flights or four a week initially to different parts of the country from the Bandaranaike International Airport.
“We are targeting travel to the south coast (during the European winter) and east coast (during summer),” he said, adding that approvals for the airline from government authorities are underway.
Mr David said the tourism market is the main focus and aimed at cutting travel time to popular visit destinations in the island.
The destinations are from the airport to Koggala, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Sigiriya, Kandy (Polgolla Reservoir) and Weerawila (Hambantota).
The airline fleet comprises two Cessna 208 (9-passenger) amphibian Caravans and one Cessna 208B (12-passenger) Grand Caravan aircraft which can operate on both land and sea.
The Saffron Aviation director said that all flights will originate from the airport while Colombo will be a location in the future when a suitable location is available.
“The Water’s Edge is being considered for a water drome (landing bay on water). If that happens we’ll consider flights from Colombo,” he said.
Source : https://www.sundaytimes.lk/130203/business-times/cinnamon-air-take-off-in-end-march-30732.html
