SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo International) is considering starting flights to Africa in a bid to tap into the growing China - Africa market Colombo's Sunday Times has reported. Among the destinations currently being considered are Addis Ababa International, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta, and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo.
“We’re looking to go to these places in Africa primarily to support the Chinese transit passengers there,” Kapila Chandrasena, SriLankan CEO, told the paper. “We’ll be taking a decision on this by next winter.”
Currently, the carrier's Chinese services include routes to Chongqing, Guangzhou, Kunming Changshui, Beijing Capital, and Shanghai Pudong.
SriLankan Airlines is not the only carrier from the Sub Continent to eye the growing Sino-African market with Air India (AI, Delhi International) and PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) having outlined their own plans to resume services to East and Southern Africa at some point in the future.
