SriLankan Airlines says there are no European airlines flying in to Colombo, apart from ad hoc charter operations.
Bmi will shortly begin codesharing on flights between London, Colombo and Male operated by SriLankan, the airline said.
SriLankan and bmi have had a codeshare partnership since 2004. A code-share allows passengers of one airline to book and fly on designated flights of the other, effectively expanding its network.
SriLankan’s passengers on the Colombo-London route could fly on the same ticket to eight bmi destinations; Manchester, Bradford, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, and Belfast.
SriLankan's Head of worldwide sales, Mohamed Fazeel said the expanded code share deal will strengthen British tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka with a top UK airline selling tickets to the country.
"This partnership also indicates the potential of Sri Lanka being rapidly recognised as a destination of choice among other European airlines and tour operators," Fazeel s