Chennai-Jaffna flights: Alliance Air is all set to resume flight services connecting Chennai and Sri Lanka’s northern city of Jaffna after a nearly three-year, pandemic-induced break. The flight will operate four times a week, Alliance Air, an Air India subsidiary announced.

The first flight on resumption of services landed this morning at the Jaffna International Airport, Upul Dharmadasa the Chairman of the Airport and Aviation Services told reporters. Jaffna airport officials said the Alliance Air service landed at Jaffna at 1125 am local time. A small ceremony was conducted to welcome the flight which had 14 selected passengers, mostly officials, on board. The return to Chennai was scheduled for 2.50 pm local time.

The service was first revived in November 2019 and operated until March 2020, when the pandemic forced governments to shut airports and borders. In the four months that the flights ran, services were increased owing to high demand. Prior to the service, locals from northern Sri Lanka had to travel to Colombo, either by train or by road, to take a flight out of the country.

Also read: Jammu to start helicopter services to connect remote areas; Here’s how much it will cost

The airport in Palaly was named the Jaffna international airport as Sri Lanka’s third international airport in October 2019 and had its first flight from Chennai. The resumption of flights is expected to help the cash-strapped country’s tourism sector and provide a fillip to its beleaguered economy.

Here’s how the resumption of Chennai-Jaffna flight will benefit the two sides:

The resumption of Chennai-Jaffna flight operations will help the Tamils living in and around Jaffna, in the Northern Province. This will also boost trade and economic activities between the two sides. As per the authorities from India and Sri Lanka, it will also draw investments in the island’s war-affected region by opening it up.

The connectivity is expected to increase tourism, especially pilgrimage tourism, from southern India to Sri Lanka’s Tamil north, bringing in valuable foreign exchange to revive the Sri Lankan economy.

With PTI inputs