Two weekly flights between Colombo and Zurich / From Zurich excellent flight connections to many other European destinations / United Ventures new GSA for Lufthansa Group Airlines as of September

Good news for all Sri Lankans longing to visit Europe again: Fully vaccinated third country nationals from outside the European Union can now visit Switzerland again without quarantine requirements. This means passengers arriving from Sri Lanka will be able to enter Switzerland normally again, given they can provide either a certificate of full CoVid-19 vaccination, full recovery from a Covid-19 infection, or by presenting a negative AntiGen Rapid or PCR test result prior to boarding their flight from Colombo.

Equal good news: As of 4 November, Swiss International Airlines will offer two weekly flights operated by leading Swiss leisure airline Edelweiss between Colombo and Zurich for business and private travel. Customers departing to Zurich will have access to Lufthansa Group’s vast European network with excellent flight connections to almost every other European country. In order to board the aircraft in Colombo, passengers need to fulfill the entry requirements of their ultimate destination.

“We are delighted to have Swiss restrictions fall for flights from Sri Lanka,” says George Ettiyil, responsible for all commercial activities in South Asia for the Lufthansa Group airlines. “We are ready to serve our Sri Lankan customers who want to travel to Switzerland or another European country to have a memorable holiday, visit family and friends or see business partners they haven’t been able to meet in person for more than a year.” George Ettiyil also expects strong pent-up demand for flights from Zurich to Colombo: “Sri Lanka is one of our most important leisure destinations in all of Asia.”

Ettiyil adds: “Our flights will offer customers state-of-the-art safety and hygiene standards that are among the highest in the industry, top-notch comfort and service in all classes as well as numerous flight connections from Zurich to top destinations in Europe.” Furthermore, Lufthansa Group Airlines will partner with “United Ventures” as its new General Sales Agency (GSA) for the Sri Lankan market as soon as 1 September. “With United Ventures we have nothing less than a top-notch service provider supporting us in what is a crucial market for our South Asian airline business,” says Ettiyil.

Timetable SWISS (as of 4 November):

LX 8065 (operated by Edelweiss)

Departure Colombo: 10:05am / 12:50pm

Arrival Zurich:                   04:40pm / 07:15pm

Departure in Colombo: Thursday / Saturday

LX8064 (operated by Edelweiss)

Departure Zurich:            05:50pm / 08:55pm

Arrival Colombo:          08:20am / 11:20am

Departure in Zurich:  Friday / Sunday

Lufthansa Group hygiene concept – health is a top priority

On Lufthansa Group flights, passengers are required to wear a protective medical mask— either a surgical mask or an FFP2 mask, or a mask with the KN95/N95 standard, from boarding throughout the flight and when leaving the aircraft. An exemption to this is only possible for medical reasons, if a medical certificate issued on a form provided by Lufthansa Group and a negative Covid-19 test, not older than 72 hours at the scheduled start of the journey, is available.

Studies and reports all indicate, infection on board is highly unlikely. All Lufthansa Group aircraft are equipped with the highest quality HEPA air filters, which ensure air quality similar to that in a medical operating room. In addition, the air circulates vertically instead of being dispersed throughout the cabin.

Flexible re-booking

Lufthansa Group airline fares can be rebooked, free-of-charge, as often as desired until July 31, 2021, if the rebooking is also made before that date. After that, another rebooking is possible free-of-charge. The newly booked flight can be scheduled within the entire ticket validity timeframe, up to one year in the future. Customers can also change their itinerary as they wish, depending on availability, and, for example, fly from Los Angeles to Munich to instead of Los Angeles to Frankfurt.

Passengers that want to postpone their original trip, but are unable to decide on a new date and destination, have the option of initially canceling their booking without committing to a new travel date. The customer's ticket remains in the system as a credit until they decide to make a new reservation and redeem it. The new booking must be made by August 31, 2021. In this situation, the departure date must be by July 31, 2022.

The rebooking fee waiver applies worldwide, for all new bookings in all fares on short, medium and long-haul routes. This enables flexible travel planning for all Lufthansa Group Airlines customers.

Additional costs may arise if, for example, the original booking class is no longer available when rebooking to a different date or to a different destination.