Category: Aviation

July 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ports and aviation ministry has stopped work on a controversial new international airport in the island’s south and decided to shift it to a new location. Sri Lanka has only one international airport at present and needs a second one under international air safety rules so flights can […]

July 23, 2008 (LBO) – Best Air, a private Bangladeshi carrier, will start direct flights from Dhaka to the Sri Lankan capital Colombo catering to growing traffic between the two countries, an official said. Best Air chairman Haider Uzzaman said they plan to start with two flights a week to Colombo and Male on Fridays […]

July 22, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines plans to reduce flights to cut costs amid soaring fuel prices but said the new schedule would not affect key passenger segments like tourists and migrant workers. The state-owned airline said in a statement it will go ahead with re-fleeting plans by replacing four old aircraft with […]

July 2, 2008 (LBO) – The United Arab Emirates has started a new budget airline branded ‘FlyDubai’, but the carrier would be run separately from the full-service, Emirates, the company said in a statement. “FlyDubai is a simple, yet powerful call to action,” Sheikh Ahmed Saeed Al-Maktoum who also owns Emirates Airlines, said in a […]

June 28, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, will re-introduce a fuel surcharge to cover rising jet fuel costs, the airline said Saturday. “Sri Lankan Airlines has re-introduced the fuel surcharge for travel and ticketing effective July 1,” the airline said. It said flights between Sri Lanka and Southeast Asian countries […]

June 26, 2008 (LBO) – The passenger and cargo operations of Emirates in Sri Lanka have won two of the carrier’s global performance awards in 2007-08, the airline said in a statement. It received the Outstanding Achievements Award in the Passenger category and the Best GSA Award from Emirates SkyCargo at Emirates’ worldwide, annual commercial […]

NEW DELHI, June 26, 2008 (AFP) – An Air India flight headed for Mumbai overshot its destination and was halfway to Goa before its dozing pilots were woken out of a deep slumber by air traffic control, a report said.The high altitude nap took place approximately two weeks ago, the Times of India reported Thursday. […]

June 25, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines, the island’s national carrier, said it has increased flights to the Middle East to support government moves to attract more tourists from the region. The state-owned airline said in a statement that weekly flights to the city of Doha had been increased to six from four previously, […]

June 10, 2008 (LBO) – Dubai-based Emirates is starting the first ever commercial Airbus A380 service to the Americas with a 14-hour non-stop flight to New York from August 01, the airline said. Air travellers will be able to experience Emirates Airline’s state-of-the-art A380 aircraft for the first time on 1st August, when the airline […]

May 30, 2008 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s grounded state-run budget airline has sought an 800,000 dollar cash infusion from the Treasury and may be merged with the national carrier, as part of a restructure plan, officials said.Merger The restructuring plan prepared by state-owned Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka, had also suggested the smaller airline merge with […]

May 21, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines technical training has completed the training of over 40 foreign and local students in aircraft engineering and maintenance, the airline said. The technician’s course has 1,200 hours of theory and another 1,200 hours of practical training in workshops, base maintenance and line maintenance. A batch of students […]

May 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines has appointed Manoj Gunawardene, the airlines former head of worldwide sales as chief executive, the company said in a statement. Gunawardene has been with the airline for 25 years and 17-years in sales and commercial divisions. He had been regional manager UK, Europe and Americas, from 2005 […]