SriLankan Airlines adds 2 extra Mumbai flights for India-Pakistan match

Carrier schedules additional Mumbai services amid strong corporate bookings and near-full flights for India-Pakistan T20 clash in Colombo

SriLankan Airlines is operating two additional flights from Mumbai on Saturday and Monday to cater to the surge in demand for the India-Pakistan cricket match in Colombo, with several corporate houses closing group bookings for their business associates.

 

India and Pakistan will clash in Colombo on Sunday during the group stage match of the ongoing T20 World Cup.

 

“Many key corporate houses joined hands with us to close multiple groups of their business associates heading for the game. We are delighted to cater to premier brands on board with us,” Fawzan Fareid, Regional Manager for India, Bangladesh and Nepal, SriLankan Airlines, told Business Standard.

 

 

Most flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai are almost full, reflecting strong advance demand and coordinated corporate travel arrangements, he said.

 

“India-Pakistan matches are global marquee events and demand started building from the day the ICC announced the fixture. A significant portion of bookings were made well in advance at competitive market fares across our Indian network,” he said.

 

He added that after the initial surge, the sales pattern “stabilised” and remained steady until there was firm clarity regarding the match arrangements.

 

Most flights departing between February 13 and the morning of February 15 are now nearly full, with metros seeing fewer than 10 seats remaining on selected services, he said.  Meanwhile, Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said, “Travel bookings to Colombo for the weekend of February 15 have doubled over the past three days compared to the average booking levels.”