Russian flag carrier Aeroflot will resume flights between Moscow and Colombo on 3 October, Russian Ambassador Levan Dzhagaryan told the Daily Mirror, which reported the announcement on Monday.
The route restarts with two flights a week. The Ambassador said the frequency would be increased later, without giving a timetable or a target.
Why it stopped, and why it is coming back now
Aeroflot suspended the Colombo service on 17 May 2026, citing the low season. The four-and-a-half-month gap is a seasonal one rather than a commercial withdrawal: Russian arrivals to Sri Lanka fall away during the northern summer and recover in winter, and the 3 October restart is timed for the coming winter season.
“We encourage more and more Russian nationals to visit Sri Lanka,” Dzhagaryan said, adding that the resumption would make it easier for Russians planning a trip.
Russia is one of Sri Lanka’s larger tourist source markets. The Daily Mirror notes that arrivals have nonetheless remained relatively low so far this year — the reason the airline was able to stand the route down for a third of the year without replacing it.
What this is not
The 3 October restart is a seasonal resumption of an existing route, not a new service and not an expansion. Aeroflot has flown Moscow–Colombo intermittently for years, and has previously suspended and restored it. The announcement adds capacity back to a market that lost it in May; it does not add a destination.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not give the aircraft type, the days of operation, the fare structure, or the seat capacity the two weekly flights restore. It does not say what frequency Aeroflot flew before the May suspension, so the size of the restored service cannot be compared with the one that stopped. Nor does it give a figure for Russian arrivals this year, or say whether any other Russian carrier is adding Colombo capacity for the winter season.
The Ambassador spoke to the Daily Mirror in an interaction that also produced separate remarks on Sri Lanka’s bilateral relations the same day. No other Sri Lankan newsroom had reported the flight resumption at the time of writing.
