Flydubai, Dubai’s first low-cost airline, will start flights to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo from June 23. Colombo will be the airline’s 21st destination.

The Dubai carrier will operate four flights per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Tickets will be priced from Dh450 ($122.5), said a Flydubai statement.

Announcing the launch, Ghaith Al Ghaith, flydubai's CEO, said: "We started 2010 with a determination to add new and exciting destinations to our route network."

"With our recent announcements of destinations as far apart as Istanbul, Lucknow, Colombo and Karachi, we have delivered on our promise to establish ourselves as an affordable, accessible airline with a professional service and a network to be proud of by the anniversary of our first flight."

'Sri Lanka is a great destination for us to have in our network, and once again we are complementing the existing services on the route. The more options for passengers the better and we believe our simple, low cost service will be very popular with the 300,000 Sri Lankans expats living in the UAE as well as tourists looking for an affordable tropical getaway.'

FZ555 leaves Dubai International Airport Terminal 2 at 1855hrs and arrives in Colombo at 0110hrs local time the following day. The return flight FZ556 leaves Colombo at 0210hrs on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, arriving in Dubai at 0510hrs local time.

Flights can be purchased on flydubai’s website (www.flydubai.com), through the call centre (+9714 301 0800) and from travel agents. – TradeArabia News Service