Sri Lankan Airlines to get treasury secretary as new chairman

March 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's government has appointed treasury secretary P B Jayasundera as chairman of the national carrier SriLankan Airlines, whose management deal with Emirates Airline expires at the end of March. The government which owns 51.05 percent of the airline has also appointed Sunil Wijesinha, present chairman of tableware exporter Dankotuwa Porcelain, and two others, Lalith de Silva and Nishantha Wickremasinghe.

Wickremesinghe was also on the board earlier.

The government is to take over management of Sri Lankan Airlines from April 1 when the management contract with Emirates ends.

Two existing board members, Tim Clarke and Gary Chapman, will remain on the board to represent Emirates, which still retains a 43.6 percent stake in the airline.

The Emirates management came to an end after the Middle Eastern airline decided not to renew its 10-year management deal following months of inconclusive and often acrimonious talks with the Sri Lankan government.

The government has said it was seeking a greater say in the management of SriLankan airlines. Updated