Jayakantha appointed as new Civil Aviation DG

A veteran in the field of aviation, P.A. Jayakantha has been appointed as the new Director General of Civil Aviation and Chief Executive Officer of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL).

The appointment was made consequent to a decision by the Cabinet of Ministers, with the concurrence of the president, at its meeting held on August 1, 2022. 

Jayakantha had been Additional Director General Civil Aviation since 2020, when he was appointed to the highest position at the CAASL. He assumed duties in the new post on August 5, 2022.  The CAASL comes under the supervision of the minister in charge of the subject of civil aviation, is the statutory body that regulates civil aviation within its territory and  the air space above it, in meeting with the obligations as a contracting state to International Civil Aviation Convention 1944, commonly known as the Chicago Convention, thus ensuring safe and secure civil aviation activities in Sri Lanka. At present, 193 states are signatory to the convention.

Jayakantha began his professional career as a Commissioned Officer in the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and then moved to the airline industry as a Management Officer with then Air Lanka Ltd, the national carrier. He joined the civil aviation inspectorate at the Civil Aviation Authority in its Aviation Regulation Division and held the positions of Director Aviation Security and Deputy Director General, prior to his appointment as Additional Director General in the year 2020.

He is also an ICAO-Accredited Auditor for the ICAO Universal Security Audit Programme and has served as a member of its Audit Team, conducting state audits in foreign countries since 2010. He is the first and only international Auditor in Civil Aviation in Sri Lanka.

In his academic qualifications, he holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics (Special) from the University of Colombo and a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Kelaniya.