Sri Lanka Tourism welcomed the inaugural flight ‘Air Seychelles’ from Seychelles to Colombo, on 21^st June 2023 carrying 110 passengers. This flight, HM262 operated by an Airbus A320 Neo aircraft touched ground at 3:50 AM and was welcomed by a celebratory water cannon salute upon arrival at BIA followed by a traditional Kandyan dance performance and an inaugural ceremony to welcome the guests. They were very much impressed with the warm welcome they received and also the colorful dance performance, which highlighted the unique Sri Lankan hospitality the island paradise was world renowned for. 

Mr. Sandy Benoiton, Acting CEO of Air Seychelles, Mr. Nicole Mancienne – Head of Commercial, Air Seychelles, Ms.Sherin Francis Principal Secretary Tourism, Seychelles & Ms. Bernadette Willemin – Director Tourism Seychelles and Ms. Danojani Weerasinghe , Market Officer for American & African Regions were present the occasion.

Following with the inaugural flight operations there will be two flights operating weekly. In order to create greater awareness about Sri Lanka as a tourist destination, Sri Lanka Tourism is arranging two familiarization tours for trade and media partners from Seychelles and South Africa collaborating with Aitken Spence (Pvt) Ltd. This initiative is expected to create more awareness about Sri Lanka and its position as a unique travel destination, and generate more tourist arrivals from these nations, further developing their respective bilateral and business partnerships.