Swiss International Airlines, from 4 November, will start two weekly flights operated by leading Swiss leisure airline Edelweiss between Colombo and Zurich for business and private travel.
Customers departing to Zurich will have access to Lufthansa Group’s vast European network with excellent flight connections to almost every other European country.
LX 8065 (operated by Edelweiss) will depart from Colombo at 10:05 a.m./12:50 p.m., with arrival in Zurich at 4:40 p.m./7:15 p.m. Departure from Colombo will be on Thursday/Saturday. LX8064 (operated by Edelweiss) will depart Zurich at 5:50 p.m./8:55 p.m., with arrival in Colombo at 8:20 a.m./11:20 a.m. Departure from Zurich will be on Friday/Sunday.
In order to board the aircraft in Colombo, passengers need to fulfil the entry requirements of their ultimate destination.
The announcement also coincides with Switzerland now allowing fully vaccinated third country nationals from outside the European Union without quarantine requirements. This means passengers arriving from Sri Lanka will be able to enter Switzerland normally again, given they can provide either a certificate of full COVID-19 vaccination, full recovery from a COVID-19 infection, or by presenting a negative rapid antigen or PCR test result prior to boarding their flight from Colombo.
“We are delighted to have Swiss restrictions fall for flights from Sri Lanka,” said George Ettiyil, responsible for all commercial activities in South Asia for the Lufthansa Group airlines.
“We are ready to serve our Sri Lankan customers who want to travel to Switzerland or another European country to have a memorable holiday, visit family and friends or see business partners they haven’t been able to meet in person for more than a year.”
Ettiyil also expects strong pent-up demand for flights from Zurich to Colombo.
“Sri Lanka is one of our most important leisure destinations in all of Asia. Our flights will offer customers state-of-the-art safety and hygiene standards that are among the highest in the industry, top-notch comfort and service in all classes as well as numerous flight connections from Zurich to top destinations in Europe.”
Lufthansa Group Airlines will partner with ‘United Ventures’ as its new general sales agency (GSA) for the Sri Lankan market as soon as 1 September.
“With United Ventures we have nothing less than a top-notch service provider supporting us in what is a crucial market for our South Asian airline business,” Ettiyil added.
(FT)