Poland's flag carrier to begin direct flights to SL

Poland's flag carrier, Polish Airlines, will begin direct flights to Sri Lankan capital Colombo from November, boosting tourism between the two countries, the island country's Information Department said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement said Polish Airlines will operate seasonally with three weekly flights between November 3 and March 28. The route will be operated using the Boeing 787, Xinhua news agency reported.

Polish Airlines CEO Rafal Milczarski said the airline decided to start a regular connection to Sri Lanka "due to the very high tourist potential in this direction".

He said annually, more than 1.8 million passengers travel between Europe and Colombo.

Sri Lanka is aiming to attract 2 million tourists by the end of this year. India, China and Britain are the leading markets for the island country's tourism. IANS