• “We want to do the same as what Emirates has done for Dubai”- Pathirage
• Says UL has a “large” role to play in making govt.’s vision a reality
• Calls COVID-19 a blessing in disguise as it allowed UL to review its efficiencies and costs  

SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage expressed confidence in the national carrier SriLankan Airlines playing a key role in making Sri Lanka a ‘regional airport’, an effort that would require positioning Colombo as an economic centre and not just a tourist destination.

“We want to do the same as what Emirates has done for Dubai or what Singapore Airlines has done for Singapore and helped make it into a prosperous city,” Pathirage said in a recent interview with ArabianIndustry.com.

He opined there is a “huge” opportunity of developing Sri Lanka as a major hub and attracting more international carriers to Colombo and that SriLankan has a “large” role to play in helping the government’s vision to become a reality.

According to Pathirage, although the national carrier has not fared well from an economic perspective over the last 10 years, the airline is “now getting it right”. “The COVID-19 situation has given us an opportunity and it’s been a blessing in disguise in a way because it has allowed us to review our size, efficiency and costs, negotiate better pricing and gear ourselves to handle the opportunities,” he said in the interview that was published this week.

In an effort to realise this ambitious goal, Pathirage stressed that first, the national carrier must survive the pandemic period, second, get the right sizing and have a good comeback and third, once the situation returns to normal, make full use of the opportunities.

However, Pathirage noted SriLankan has a long way to go before it can compete on the same level as large Gulf carriers, when it comes to connecting East and West but said there is “no denying” SriLankan’s ambition and Sri Lanka’s potential to play a much more significant role in the region’s aviation market, over the next decade.