The inaugural winter-season flight from Poland to Sri Lanka touched down at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) last night (23), marking the commencement of direct seasonal air connectivity between the two countries.
Operated by Smart Wings Airlines, the flight arrived from Warsaw at 10:10 p.m. using a Boeing 737 aircraft, carrying 180 passengers along with nine crew members.
Under the winter schedule, Smart Wings will operate weekly flights every Tuesday from Warsaw to Colombo until March 15, 2026, strengthening inbound tourism from Eastern Europe.
Passengers arriving on these flights are expected to travel across key tourist destinations in Sri Lanka, including coastal regions as well as cultural and scenic locations such as Sigiriya, Dambulla, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Yala.
The group of Polish tourists was warmly welcomed at BIA by officials from the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, underscoring ongoing efforts to boost winter tourism arrivals.
Cyclone Ditwah Inflicts Heavy Losses on Sri Lanka’s Agriculture Sector
Cyclone Ditwah has caused widespread devastation across Sri Lanka, severely disrupting agriculture, fisheries and rural livelihoods, according to the latest country brief issued by the FAO’s Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) on Food and Agriculture.
The cyclone made landfall on 27 November 2025 and lingered over the island for nearly three days, unleashing exceptionally heavy rainfall that triggered extensive flooding and numerous landslides. As of 16 December 2025, more than 2.2 million people—nearly 10 percent of the population—had been affected, with significant damage reported to homes, bridges, roads and irrigation infrastructure.
Large swathes of agricultural land were inundated, destroying standing crops, livestock, fisheries assets and household food stocks. The timing of the disaster was particularly damaging, as it struck just as farmers had planted or were in the process of planting the 2026 Maha main cultivation season, which accounts for the majority of Sri Lanka’s annual agricultural production.
Preliminary official assessments indicate that approximately 106,000 hectares of paddy—around 20 percent of total Maha season sowings—were partially damaged or completely lost as of 15 December 2025. The most severe losses were recorded in the districts of Puttalam, Kurunegala, Ampara, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa and Trincomalee. Significant damage was also reported to maize, vegetable, big onion and green gram crops. An estimated 227,000 farmers, predominantly smallholder rice producers engaged in subsistence farming, were affected.
The livestock sector also suffered substantial losses, with around 475,000 poultry and nearly 50,000 other animals—including cattle, buffaloes, goats and swine—reported dead. Meanwhile, the fisheries and aquaculture sectors sustained extensive damage to boats, fishing gear, fishponds, shrimp farms and supporting infrastructure. Total losses in the fisheries sector alone are estimated at between LKR 20.5 billion and LKR 21.5 billion.
Sri Lanka Welcomes Inaugural Winter-Season Flight from Poland at BIA
