SriLankan doesn’t own aircraft; runs operation with leased planes:

Nimal Siripala de Silva

• Says measures will be taken to remedy the deficiencies

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama   

SriLankan Airlines does not have a single aircraft and the aviation process is maintained by the aircraft acquired under leasing from different countries, Ports, Shipping, and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

He said this during a special discussion held yesterday morning and said measures will be taken to remedy the deficiencies.

He said arrangements should be made to get the aircraft as soon as possible, and the restructuring process of the airlines has started in parallel with this process.
He further said that a committee has already been appointed by the Treasury for the same and that the process will be implemented soon.

The discussion was held at the ministry about the discrepancies in the computerized navigation system of the SriLankan Airlines aircraft during its flight to Melbourne, Australia.
“An internal investigation is already being conducted by SriLankan Airlines, and the computer components have been sent to the manufacturing company. The report will be made public once the investigation is completed,” the Minister said.

The Minister strongly advised the authorities of SriLankan Airlines to take steps to prevent such situations from happening in the future, based on the information from the inspection reports that both those probes were completed promptly.

Meanwhile, SriLankan Airlines CEO Richard Natali stated that such incidents occur not only in SriLankan Airlines but in every airline across the
world. Then, the minister requested the CEO to submit reports of such incidents  in other airlines around the world within a week.

The head of the engineering department of Sri Lankan Airlines stated that there is a shortage of 25 staff members in the engineering department, as those who were recruited to the engineering department are leaving the airline and going for overseas jobs.  The minister gave the necessary approval to recruit 25 qualified professionals to the engineering department yesterday.