2007 is record year for Sri Lankan Airlines, ferries 3.2 million passengers

Sri Lankan Airlines said it has carried 3.2 million passengers globally in 2007, an increase of more than 100,000 over the previous year. This, according to the airline, is the largest number of passengers carried in a calendar year since its inception in 1979.

It recorded significant increases in all regions - Europe, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The largest increase was recorded in traffic to and from Frankfurt, Bahrain, Doha, Bangkok and Singapore.

Manoj Gunawardena, head, passenger sales (worldwide), said: "Our worldwide team has achieved an excellent performance during the calendar year 2007. We remained strong in all regions, and our focus on the Indian market yielded excellent results".

In India substantial increases were seen in the number of passengers carried to and from Mumbai, Calicut, Goa, Madras, and Bangalore.

Last November, Sri Lankan became the first foreign carrier to operate 100 flights per week to India, where it currently serves 11 cities.

During 2007 it launched new services to Coimbatore and increased services to several other cities, including its double-daily service to Mumbai. The airline said that services to Coimbatore and Jeddah have lived up to their potential.

"It was not an easy year since some tourists were deterred by strong travel advisories issued by key tourist generating countries. We also faced increased competition from other carriers in India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia," said Gunawardena.

The airline's other traditional markets continued to be rock solid, including London, Male, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Trivandrum, Trichy, and Cochin.

Apart from carrying travellers to and from Sri Lanka, the airline has focused on turning Colombo into a hub in the region, connecting East and West and serving as the gateway to India.