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  • India and Sri Lanka resume flights services between Chennai and Jaffna

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    India and Sri Lanka resume flights services between Chennai and Jaffna
    The restart of flights between Chennai and Jaffna is expected to benefit Sri Lanka's cash-strapped tourism industry...

    Digital Desk: India and Sri Lanka restored airline services between Chennai and Jaffna on Monday, three years after the island nation suspended them owing to the Covid outbreak. 

    The first flight since the reinstatement of services landed this morning at Jaffna International Airport, according to Upul Dharmadasa, Chairman of the Airport and Aviation Services. 

    As per Jaffna airport officials, the Alliance Air flight arrived around 11:25 a.m. local time. A brief ceremony was held to greet the flight, which carried 14 selected passengers, largely officials. 

    The flight back to Chennai was due to leave at 2.50 p.m. local time.

    The Alliance Air flights would connect the two cities four times per week. 

    In October 2019, the airport in Palaly was renamed Jaffna International Airport as Sri Lanka's third international airport, with its first flight from Chennai. 

    In October 2019, the airport in Palaly was renamed Jaffna International Airport as Sri Lanka's third international airport, with its first flight from Chennai.

    The airport's reconstruction in 2019 was sponsored jointly by Sri Lanka and India. 

    The tourism industry is the principal source of foreign exchange profits for cash-strapped Sri Lanka. 

    However, the advent of the pandemic in 2020 greatly harmed the tourism sector and was one of the key reasons for Sri Lanka's economic woes. 

    The restart of flights is expected to benefit the cash-strapped country's tourism sector and deliver a boost to its battered economy.