SriLankan Airlines to procure first freighter on lease basis

SriLankan Airlines has secured the Cabinet nod to call international tenders to procure its first dedicated freighter on lease basis as the airline eyes significant contribution from cargo segment to support its plans to return to profitability at the end of 2022.

The Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved a resolution forwarded by Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga allowing the national carrier to procure a cargo aircraft on lease basis under the international competitive procurement methodology. With the pandemic impacting its core business, SriLankan Airlines last year aggressively expanded its cargo operations. Last year, the airline launched its cargo only flights after converting an underutilised A330 aircraft into a dedicated cargo aircraft.

SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage late last year announced plans to add two dedicated cargo aircraft to its fleet, aiming to triple or quadruple the airline’s freight volumes over the next two years. “Considering the current market changes, it has become a fine opportunity for the main aeronautical companies to enter into goods transportation market via main air routes seeking the goods transportation market share. Therefore, paying attention on the potential for air goods transportation, it has been planned to change the available SriLankan company structure strategically,” the Government Information Department stated.  According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global air cargo demand returned to pre-COVID levels for the first time in January this year since the onset of the health crisis, while air passenger demand is expected to take a longer duration to recover.

SriLankan Airlines currently has freight operations to 26 destinations in Europe, Middle East, Australia, India and the Far East regions, whilst offering capacity for cargo charter operations. The cargo segment generated US$ 88.6 million (Rs.15.7 billion) in revenue in 2019/2020 financial year for the carrier as it handled 113,971 metric tonnes of cargo.

Cargo sales and postal mail accounted for 10 percent of SriLankan’s total air traffic revenue in the year.