<p>Daily commercial flights between Chennai and Sri Lanka's Jaffna city have commenced with India's Alliance Air increasing the frequency from the earlier four-times-a-week service, a move that is set to further boost travel and trade between the two countries.</p>.<p>The move to increase the frequency of flights between Chennai and the Tamil-dominated Jaffna city was announced earlier this month by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia during the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) annual convention hosted in Colombo.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/sri-lankan-president-wickremesinghes-suggestion-on-bimstec-gets-thumbs-up-from-former-indian-tourism-secretary-1235922.html">Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe's suggestion on BIMSTEC gets thumbs up from former Indian Tourism Secretary</a></strong></p>.<p>The daily commercial flights between Chennai and the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) in the north began operations on Sunday, aviation officials said.</p>.<p>Chief Airport Manager, Aruna Rajapaksa, confirmed the inaugural flight's arrival in Jaffna at 11:30 am, marking the initiation of daily flights along this route, the NewsFirst news portal reported on Sunday.</p>.<p>"Alliance Air is set to commence daily scheduled operations between Jaffna and Chennai, starting from 16th July 2023. Initially operating with their ATR72 aircraft, which can comfortably carry 70 passengers", a press release by Sri Lanka's Airport and Aviation Services said.</p>.<p>Alliance Air, which initially aimed for four flights per week starting from December 15, 2022, decided to upgrade the frequency of its operations to a daily flight service due to the growing demand for flights to the JIA.</p>.<p>It added that that the flights are designed to ensure timely and convenient travel options for passengers, with arrivals at 11:30 am and departures to Chennai at 12:30 pm.</p>.<p>"Go South Go Chennai. An exciting trip awaits you in Chennai. Fly direct to Chennai from Jaffna, Mysore and Hyderabad," the Indian government-owned carrier tweeted on Sunday.</p>.<p>The JIA, developed with Indian assistance, now offers a growing number of scheduled flights catering to domestic and international travellers.</p>.<p>In December 2022, India and Sri Lanka resumed flight services between Chennai and Jaffna, three years after the island nation discontinued the services due to the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>Tourism is the primary source of foreign exchange earnings for cash-strapped Sri Lanka. However, the onset of the pandemic in 2020 severely crippled the tourism sector and was one of the significant reasons for Sri Lanka's economic travails.</p>
<p>Daily commercial flights between Chennai and Sri Lanka's Jaffna city have commenced with India's Alliance Air increasing the frequency from the earlier four-times-a-week service, a move that is set to further boost travel and trade between the two countries.</p>.<p>The move to increase the frequency of flights between Chennai and the Tamil-dominated Jaffna city was announced earlier this month by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia during the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) annual convention hosted in Colombo.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/sri-lankan-president-wickremesinghes-suggestion-on-bimstec-gets-thumbs-up-from-former-indian-tourism-secretary-1235922.html">Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe's suggestion on BIMSTEC gets thumbs up from former Indian Tourism Secretary</a></strong></p>.<p>The daily commercial flights between Chennai and the Jaffna International Airport (JIA) in the north began operations on Sunday, aviation officials said.</p>.<p>Chief Airport Manager, Aruna Rajapaksa, confirmed the inaugural flight's arrival in Jaffna at 11:30 am, marking the initiation of daily flights along this route, the NewsFirst news portal reported on Sunday.</p>.<p>"Alliance Air is set to commence daily scheduled operations between Jaffna and Chennai, starting from 16th July 2023. Initially operating with their ATR72 aircraft, which can comfortably carry 70 passengers", a press release by Sri Lanka's Airport and Aviation Services said.</p>.<p>Alliance Air, which initially aimed for four flights per week starting from December 15, 2022, decided to upgrade the frequency of its operations to a daily flight service due to the growing demand for flights to the JIA.</p>.<p>It added that that the flights are designed to ensure timely and convenient travel options for passengers, with arrivals at 11:30 am and departures to Chennai at 12:30 pm.</p>.<p>"Go South Go Chennai. An exciting trip awaits you in Chennai. Fly direct to Chennai from Jaffna, Mysore and Hyderabad," the Indian government-owned carrier tweeted on Sunday.</p>.<p>The JIA, developed with Indian assistance, now offers a growing number of scheduled flights catering to domestic and international travellers.</p>.<p>In December 2022, India and Sri Lanka resumed flight services between Chennai and Jaffna, three years after the island nation discontinued the services due to the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>Tourism is the primary source of foreign exchange earnings for cash-strapped Sri Lanka. However, the onset of the pandemic in 2020 severely crippled the tourism sector and was one of the significant reasons for Sri Lanka's economic travails.</p>