Israeli airline to launch 1st direct route to Sri Lanka in Oct.

JERUSALEM, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Israeli airline Arkia on Monday announced the first-ever direct flight route between Israel and Sri Lanka.

The flights, to operate between Ben Gurion International Airport outside Tel Aviv and Bandaranaike International Airport in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, will be launched on Oct. 31, with two round-trip flights weekly.

The flight will take about seven hours in each direction, compared to at least 9.5 hours in the current route, which includes a stopover.