Category: Aviation

Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to further liberalise its civil aviation sector and remove flying restrictions with the end of its ethnic war, an official said. The private sector will be given more opportunities to operate hot air balloons, float planes and helicopters, the Civil Aviation Authority director-general H M C Nimalsiri […]

Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run national carrier SriLankan Airlines is planning to divest a part of its fully owned catering unit through a public listing, Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe said. Earlier this week the government said it will divest a 49 percent stake in a gas distributor it planned to buy back from […]

Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Gulf Air, which has resumed flights to Sri Lanka after a war, is aiming for daily frequencies by next summer given the increasing number of Arab tourists visiting the island, officials said. Chief executive Samer Majali said the island’s economic recovery after its 30-year ethnic war is also drawing increasing […]

Sept 28, 2010 (LBO) – India’s Jet Airways said it plans to introduce daily flights to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo from Delhi and Mumbai to cater to the rising number of visitors to the island. The two new flights starting from November 5, are in addition to the existing daily Chennal Colombo service, with […]

Sept 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will revamp its outdated civil aviation law to cope with advances made over several decades and a new law will be brought to parliament quickly, information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. Analysts say Sri Lanka could also earn revenues by expanding air traffic and navigation services to the Indian […]

SINGAPORE, September 8, 2010 (AFP) – Asia-Pacific airlines are raising ticket prices as travellers return in their droves after holding back on their travel plans last year because of the global recession. A strong economic rebound, led by China, has resulted in carriers filling more seats during the summer holidays and demand should remain robust […]

Sept 08, 2010 (LBO) – India’s Spice Jet, the country’s second largest budget carrier, will start flying to Sri Lanka daily from Chennai from October 09, after the airline received official nod to start international services. The airline is selling online a Colombo – Chennai ticket at 5,098 rupees and Chennai – Colombo ticket at […]

Sept 03, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka’s state-run national said it will acquire two floatplanes to re-start domestic air services later this year and also buy five short haul Airbus A320 aircraft next year as it looked to fly new routes. SriLankan said it will acquire two De Havilland Canada Twin Otter floatplanes […]

Sept 02, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka’s state-run national carrier said it lost 6. 06 billion rupees in the year to March 2010, down from a 9.99 billion loss notched up an year earlier. The airline said it had cut cost and improved revenue under turnaround plan and losses in the second half […]

Aug 20, 2010 (LBO) – Malaysia’s Fly Asia has bought a 70 percent stake in Sri Lanka’s Infrastructure Developers (IDL), essentially a loss-making shell company listed on the Colombo bourse, a stock exchange filing said. Fly Asia, an air transport company which operates air services and builds aerodromes, has made a mandatory offer for the […]

Aug 19, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines has graduated its first batch of Aircraft Maintenance students under the EASA 147 European certification as it seeks to build its engineering business, a statement said. The 26 students, including seven foreign students from the Maldives, Oman and India, underwent two years of training at SriLankan’s Technical Training […]

Aug 13, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines is planning to support the country’s rapidly-growing tourism industry with a planned increase in worldwide flights and to acquire two more aircraft this year, a statement said. The national carrier plans additional capacity to Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Rome, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Karachi and many cities in […]