Srilankan Airlines, yesterday announced that it will be suspending flights to Paris and Frankfurt from October and November this year. The last flights between Frankfurt and Colombo will be operated on 30th October, while the last flight to Paris will be on 6th November. The airline said that the government of Sri Lanka has made it clear that it will no longer fund continuing losses. “While the drop in fuel prices has contributed to the airline’s improved performance, this benefit has been significantly eroded with the airline’s revenues declining for the financial year ending 2015/16 compared to the previous year. Addition of capacity to the Colombo market particularly by Middle Eastern carriers, accompanied by a drop in airfares in European markets has seen the contribution of the European network drop in comparison to the other routes. This has been further exacerbated by the depreciation of the Euro against the Dollar,” Srilankan airlines said.
Sri Lankan will concentrate on its profitable London Heathrow route. The Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East and the Far East will remain Sri Lankan’s focal markets, where the airline will continue to explore its potential for expansion a statement confirmed, with the Etihad and Qatar code share agreements being a central plank of that strategy.