Spicejet on Friday said it would launch its new Chennai-Colombo flight this Saturday. The flight is scheduled to take off from Chennai at 1:30 a.m. and will be received at Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo, Sri Lanka, at 2.50 a.m., Spicejet stated in a press release. The return journey, from Colombo to Chennai flight, will depart at 4:10 a.m. in the early morning.

The route will be daily and will also further connect to other important hubs within the domestic network of the two nations, the airline said. The base fare on this route begins from Rs.999 (about US$20) and the airline will fly Boeing 737-800 aircraft.



“We’re delighted to expand our range of destinations in the South Asian sub-continent with the start of our flights to Colombo. The initial response to the launch of these flights has been extremely encouraging and we look forward to rapidly establishing our presence in the Sri Lankan market,” Spicejet Director Kishore Gupta said.

The airline completed five years of operation in the domestic market in May 2010. Over the next few months, it plans to expand its network to Nepal, Bangladesh and the Maldives.