Sri Lanka Tourism officials in Collaboration with the Airport & Aviation officials gave an arousing welcome to the inaugural flight of Cathay Pacific Airways, CX 611 on the 1st of February, 2024, at the Bandaranaike International Airport. The Passengers and the crew were welcomed by Tourism Information Centre officials of the SLTPB and also Mr . Thisum Jayasuriya , Chairman , Sri Lanka Convention Bureau. The largest carrier of Hong Kong, with its Head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, resumed flights to Sri Lanka after several years. The Airline recommenced passenger flight operations using an Airbus 330-300 aircraft and according to their new flight schedule, Flight operations will be carried out 3 days a week, including Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Cathay Pacific has been catering to Sri Lankan market for over 30 years, making it become one of the major and crucial Airlines contributing to Sri Lanka’s Tourism Sector. The Airline temporarily stopped flight operations in March 2020 due to the Global Pandemic situation. However as Pandemic relief, The Airline operated a Boeing 747 freighter carrying vital supplies including Covid Vaccines during the pandemic.

The newly resumed flight carried 253 passengers and they were very much impressed with the warm, colorful welcome they received and the cultural dancing performance organized by Sri Lanka Tourism at BIA. This will be a most important moment in history as Cathay Pacific is an Airline which currently operates to around 80 destinations in the world, and will be an asset to Sri Lanka’s Tourism sector in bringing an increased number of tourist arrivals, promoting Sri Lanka as a top travel destination. This operation will benefit to attract passengers travelling out of far east countries, especially from China and Hong Kong.