Sri Lanka on Thursday welcomed the first Russian guests aboard a new flight service that was inaugurated after the bankrupt nation pleaded with Moscow to send tourists to help resuscitate its ailing economy.
Sri Lanka’s largest source of tourists at the beginning of the year was Russia, but with the invasion of Ukraine and the island’s worst economic crisis, Russian visits practically ended.
A commercial dispute also resulted in the suspension of direct flights between the two nations for months, forcing the then-president of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to seek his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to resolve the standoff.
Thursday’s trip by the Russian airline Red Wings, which carried 398 passengers, was the inaugural bimonthly direct route between Moscow and the southern port city of Hambantota.
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“The beginning of flights to Sri Lanka marks a new landmark… “This is a momentous occasion for Red Wings, our passengers, and our nations,” said the airline’s general director in a statement.
The route supplements Aeroflot’s current flights between Moscow and Colombo, which restarted in October following a four-month interruption.
Aeroflot ceased operations in June after a court ordered the seizure of its Airbus A330 over a dispute with an Irish corporation.
After government intervention, the aircraft was released, but the event sparked a diplomatic dispute that was only settled when Rajapaksa called Putin to request that flights resume.
Despite Russia’s pariah position since the invasion of Ukraine, Sri Lanka has maintained close connections with Russia.
It has also purchased Russian oil at a bargain, ignoring United States and European Union embargoes.
Earlier this year, months of outages, widespread inflation, and essential food and fuel shortages made life miserable for Sri Lanka’s 22 million residents.
In April, the government defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt and is now attempting to get a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Rajapaksa resigned in July after fleeing the nation after a massive mob of demonstrators, infuriated by the economic collapse and the associated difficulties, invaded his official residence.
His successor has hurried to fix Sri Lanka’s balance sheet by increasing taxes and attempting to revive the tourism industry, a crucial source of desperately needed foreign cash.
»Sri Lanka welcomes more Russian flights following a tourism campaign«