Cathay Pacific to resume Colombo services on 22 April

Cathay Pacific Airways announced today that it will resume daily flights to and from Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka, on Sunday, 22 April. Flight CX703, which departs from Hong Kong on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday will fly via Bangkok while flight CX711 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday stops in Singapore before continuing to Colombo.

The airline took the difficult decision to suspend its flight operations to and from Colombo following the closure of the airport on 26 March. The airline acted out of concern for the safety of its passengers and crew.

Cathay Pacific Chief Operating Officer Tony Tyler said: "Safety is always our top priority. Cathay Pacific remains committed to Sri Lanka and now that enhanced security measures are being put in place we are happy to be able to resume flights to the country.”

The airline did everything possible to help those affected by the suspension of services. Cathay Pacific crew and staff at Colombo worked hard to look after the affected passengers when the airport was closed, accompanying them to temporary hotel accommodation and later helping to get them to their onward destinations.

Special ticketing arrangements were also put in place for Cathay Pacific passengers, with all cancellation, refund, rebooking and rerouting charges waived for all tickets issued worldwide on or before 26 March 2007 for travel involving Colombo on or before 30 April 2007.