Category: Aviation

SINGAPORE, February 14, 2011 (AFP) – Eight-hundred million more people will travel by air by 2014, over a quarter of them from China, raising the need for more efficient traffic management and airports, IATA trade body said Monday. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast an estimated 3. 3 billion air travellers in three years’ […]

KUALA LUMPUR, February 9, 2011 (AFP) – Southeast Asia’s largest budget carrier AirAsia said Wednesday it has no immediate plans to impose fuel surcharges despite sharply higher oil prices. AirAsia chief executive officer Tony Fernandes told AFP that the carrier will only consider imposing a ticket surcharge if the New York crude futures contract hits […]

February 7, 2011 (AFP) – Five Saudi Arabian nationals appeared in court in Colombo on Monday after their allegedly drunken misbehaviour on board a flight from Dubai to Indonesia forced the plane to land in Sri Lanka. The men became unruly during the journey, shouting abuse at passengers and refusing to obey orders from cabin […]

Feb 08, 2011 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines has signed a new three-year wage agreement with the union representing aircraft technicians, as it expands its fleets and seeks more aircraft maintenance business, a statement said. Talks are also going on with the Flight Attendants Union and the Association of Licensed Aircraft Engineers (ALAE), the other employee […]

Feb 03, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines has begun flights to the Chinese city of Guangzhou (Canton), the national carrier’s fourth destination in China, a statement said. The airline said that operations to more cities in China with good frequencies will assist in promoting business and tourism between the two countries. Besides Guangzhou, the […]

Jan 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Senok group of companies has been given the nod to start a domestic helicopter service, a top official said as the country recovers from the end of a long drawn out war and tourism is taking off. Director general of Sri Lanka’s civil aviation authority H M C […]

Dec 29, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines won the ‘Travel & Tourism’ category at the island’s recent Effie Awards for its ˜Hotseats’ marketing campaign that led to better sales, a statement said. SriLankan received a Bronze for the campaign, which was produced by the ad agency Grant McCann Erickson. It was the highest award presented […]

Dec 21, 2010 (LBO) – Warrant Officer N P S Pathirana carefully fixes the rotors of a model MI24 helicopter gunship. Once we go online next year everybody will have access to these models, Nanayakkara said. During the height of the war with the now defeated separatist Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lanka Air Force extensively […]

Dec 17, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines has taken delivery of another Airbus A320 aircraft as it continues to expand its global route network, a statement said. The newest arrival swells SriLankan’s fleet to 15 aircraft four A320s, five A330s, five A340s, and a De Havilland Twin Otter. The A320 will join the narrow-body fleet […]

Dec 15, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines has signed a three-year collective agreement with its largest employee union, the Sri Lanka Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya (SLNSS), introducing a performance-driven work culture, a statement said. The airline is about to re-launch its domestic service SriLankan Air Taxi, and will also commence services to Guangzhou (Canton) and Kochi […]

Dec 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned oil refiner has been given the go-ahead to fund the construction of an aircraft refuelling facility at a new international airport being built in the south, a statement said. It currently operates a refuelling facility at the island’s sole international airport at Katunayake, north of Colombo. The […]

Nov 27, 2010 (LBO) – Pre-war air and ferry links between south India and northern Sri Lanka should resume to improve contacts between people and strengthen the local economies, Indian foreign minister S M Krishna said. With the end of the 30-year ethnic war in May 2009, both governments want to resume the old ties […]