Australia's budget airliner Jetstar Airways will touch down at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) on Tuesday, marking the launch of its new direct Melbourne-Colombo service, according to Aviation Voice.

The inaugural JQ5 flight is scheduled to depart Melbourne at 12:00 noon and arrive in Colombo at 5:50 p.m. local time. The return JQ6 service will depart Colombo at 7:50 p.m. and arrive in Melbourne at 10:00 a.m. the following day, the report said.

The new route will operate three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, using Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. Jetstar plans to offer more than 100,000 seats annually on the route.

The Melbourne-Colombo service marks Jetstar's first direct connection to South Asia and its first operation between Australia and Sri Lanka. It is being introduced as Australia's only low-cost direct link between Melbourne and Colombo.

Hayleys Aviation serves as Jetstar's General Sales Agent (GSA) in Sri Lanka, handling the airline's sales and representation activities in the local market.

Jetstar is the low-cost subsidiary of Qantas Group, operating in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific region.

Source: Aviation Voice