Dubai’s flagship carrier, Emirates, announced plans to boost its operations to and from Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, today (31).

The airline will operate an additional scheduled service between Colombo and Dubai starting January 2, 2025.

The newly introduced flight, to operate as EK654/655, increases the seating capacity on the route by 30 per cent and supports Sri Lanka’s plans to increase tourist arrivals considerably in 2025, the carrier said in a statement.

The additional service will operate six times a week until March 31 2025. EK654 will depart Dubai International Airport (DXB) every day except Wednesday. From April 1, 2025, a seventh weekly flight on Wednesdays will operate with an adjusted departure time.

The additional flight can accommodate up to 360 passengers, with 8 First Class suites, 42 Business Class seats, and 310 Economy Class seats. Emirates currently operates two direct flights between Colombo and Dubai and a third daily service via Male.

Since services began, Emirates has carried more than 12 million passengers to and from Colombo. With the four daily flights, the airline will offer more than 2,800 seats daily on the service operating between Colombo and Dubai (both directions) with the capacity to carry up to 160 tonnes of cargo on the same flights.

With the boost in capacity on the Colombo-Dubai route, Emirates will contribute to achieving the country’s tourism targets of attracting 3 million visitors by 2025. Emirates began operations to Sri Lanka in April 1986, and the airline and Sri Lanka Tourism share a long-standing strategic partnership.

Sri Lanka Tourism recently announced its vision to appeal to eco-conscious travellers by highlighting the island’s rich natural and cultural resources.

Source : Gulf News