SriLankan suspends flights to Frankfurt, Paris

SriLankan airlines today announced that it would suspend its flights to Frankfurt and Paris in October and November, 2016 respectively.

In a statement, the national carrier said the last flight between Frankfurt and Colombo (UL 553/554) will be on October 30, while the last flight (UL 563/564) from Paris to Colombo will be on November 6.

 “The Government of Sri Lanka has made it clear that it will no longer fund continuing losses. Airline sources said that the route network is being continuously evaluated in the context of changing market dynamics in order to maximize on sustainable routes which bring in more contribution towards the bottom line.

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 F/Y 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. Airline sources further stated that there were no short term signs of recovery in yields.

SriLankan operates daily flights to both Doha and Abu Dhabi and has a strong code share relationship with Etihad and Qatar through which it will continue to provide onward connectivity to the European destinations it has been serving via Paris and Frankfurt.

London will remain the Airline’s gateway to Europe, where the Airline has deployed its state-of-the-art A330-300 fleet for daily non-stop operations, providing a greater comfort and an enhanced flying experience to its passengers.

The Indian Sub-continent, the Middle East and the Far East will remain SriLankan’s focal markets, where the Airline will continue to explore its potential for expansion,” it said.