Category: Aviation

Apr 06, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run SriLankan Airline has not been able to face the competition in a liberalized air services framework and it has to be saved, President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said. He said Sri Lanka’s opposition was now criticizing the government’s economic strategy using false propaganda. “During their time they made […]

Mar 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines said it wants to encourage more young women to become pilots with the national carrier, pointing to recent flights by an all-female flying crew. Sri Lankan Airlines’ lady pilots have “quietly revolutionized” aviation in Sri Lanka, with several international flights being carried out by all-female crews, the […]

Mar 24, 2010 (LBO) – A makeshift airstrip built by Tamil Tiger separatists in the jungles of northern Sri Lanka is to be turned into an aviation complex under government post-war reconstruction plans, an official said. L H Indrasiri, director, geographical information systems of the Urban Development Authority, said the proposal was part of a […]

Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has decided to lift restrictions on private flying and open up her skies for recreational aviation to lure tourists after the end of a 30-year war, a senior official said. Dissanayake said they want to revive an ‘open skies’ scheme started in November 2006 in the island’s south […]

Mar 12, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned budget airline, Mihin Lanka, whose losses have been subsidized by government, said it has begun making monthly profits after breaking even last August. However, the controversial airline, which stopped operating in 2008 after losing over three billion rupees and leaving bad loans at two state banks and […]

Mar 12, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines plans to add more destinations and increase frequencies on existing routes as it expands and the island’s tourist trade revives with the end of a war, senior officials said. “Now we’ve managed to reduce losses. There’s a gradual rise towards profitability. ” The island’s national carrier also […]

Mar 04, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is buying six Xian MA60 turboprop powered aircraft for a state-run airline and air force, from China, a media report said. The aircraft are being sold by China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) finance by a government loan, Flight Global an aviation news portal said quoting […]

Feb 27, 2010 (LBO) – Oman Air’s new service to Sri Lanka and the Maldives is the first of a series of new routes to South Asia and part of the Middle Eastern carrier’s strategy to become a bigger player in the Asian air travel market, a top official said. Oman Air four operates weekly […]

Feb 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is negotiating with Dubai-based Emirates to buy its stake in Sri Lankan Airlines, the island’s state-run national carrier, chairman Nishanta Wickremasinghe said. But with a revival in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka after the end of a 30-year war, the airline is expecting a turnaround later in […]

Feb 17, 2010 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines, Sri Lanka’s state-run national career, is upgrading its product to boost margins following a revival in tourism traffic and is expecting to turnaround later in 2010, an official said. In the financial year ending March 2009 Sri Lankan lost 9.99 billion rupees as global air travel slumped and […]

Jan 18, 2010 (LBO) – Cargo volumes at Sri Lanka’s main international airport have hit a life high in December 2009, topping a previous record in 2006, the island’s state-run national carrier which operates the terminal said. Sri Lankan Airlines which operates the cargo terminal at Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake said 23 airlines had […]

Jan 14, 2009 (LBO) – Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways is seeing growth in traffic after it resumed services to Colombo with tourist arrivals also expected to pick after a 30-year war ended in the island, officials said. The airline is also banking on an upturn in tourist traffic after a 30-year war ended last […]