Mihin flies to Indonesia from November

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

Sri Lanka’s first budget airline, Mihin Lanka will commence operating flights to a new destination from November this year, CEO Mihin Lanka Kapila Chandrasena said.

Accordingly, Mihin Lanka will fly to Jakarta thrice a week considering the growing potential market share for budget airlines. Mihin Lanka will also enter the domestic airline sector by operating flights between the Bandaranaike International Airport and Jaffna.

A modern aircraft acquired from France will be deployed for this service.

The novel aircraft is equipped with modern facilities and technology allowing it to fly low above the sea consuming less fuel. The 210 seater, A321 air-bus is really new as it has been manufactured in 2007, Chandrasena noted.

However, the aircraft can also be used for long distance flights. The aircraft would be deployed on flights to Maldives and Bangladesh in the near future. Mihin will fly to the Maldives daily. Mihin is hoping to operate to Dhaka and Ahamadabad thrice a week.

Mihin Lanka has planned to open regional branches in several main towns in the country. The first regional branch under this program was opened in Kurunegala recently. The next regional branch will be opened in Jaffna in September, the CEO said.