68,000 tourists from Russia on Red Wings flights

Russia-based Red Wings Airlines is expected to bring around 68,000 tourists to Sri Lanka starting from October 28, Udayanga Weeratunga, a former envoy who has been involved in the trade, said.

Red Wings will operate six weekly flights from Moscow, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Sochi, and Samara until May 06 to Sri Lanka’s Hambantota airport, Weeratunga said.

The 160 flights, which will bring 68,000 tourists, will generate tourism revenues of 102 million dollars, he said.

Weeratunga said he intervened to bring Red Wings to Sri Lanka in December 2022, resulting in 94,795 tourists coming to the island through Mattala Airport, generating $150 million in tourism revenues.

Last year, 8,282 tourists came from Moldova, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland through SkyUp and FlyOne airlines. Some tourist industry officials have said Red Wings may have been deterred by top prices at hotels in 2023, followed by many South resorts.

Weeratunga, a former ambassador during the rule of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, said he had been politically victimized.

“The time has come to end 9 years of political victimization,” he said.

The agent for Red Wings was Tropical Aviation Services. Travel agents in Russia that were bringing tourists were ANEX and Fun & Sun.

In Sri Lanka, tourists were handled by Exotic Holidays International,” Aitken Spence Travels, Weeratunga said.