From Left: -Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, Ajith Dias (Chairman – SriLankan Airlines), Captain SurenRatwatte (CEO - SriLankan Airlines)

Nearly 600 young men and women qualified to embark upon rewarding careers in the international air transport industry at the graduation ceremonyof the SriLankan Aviation College, one of Asia’s premier aviation academies, on  March 31st at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo.
The SriLankan Aviation College is the academy of SriLankan Airlines and provides a wide range of programmes for Sri Lankans and international students at its facility at Bandaranaike International Airport. The 594 graduates studied different specialized fields in the air transport industry which ranged from Airport Service to Cabin Crew, General Aviation, Cargo Handling, Aviation Management, and Aircraft Maintenance.
The chief guest at the graduation was Kabir Hashim, Minister of Public Enterprise Development. Guests of honour  Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Transport & Civil Aviation, Ajith Dias, Chairman SriLankan Airlines, Capt. Suren Ratwatte, CEO of SriLankan Airlines, and H.M.C. Nimalsiri, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka.
Diplomas and certificates were presented in the disciplines of Airport Passenger Handling (220 graduates), IATA / Cabin Crew (186), IATA Cargo Introductory (48), IATA / UFTAA Foundation Diploma (46), IATA/UFTAA Consultants Diploma (8), Certificate Programme in Aviation Management (32), Aircraft Maintenance CAT A1 (10), and Aircraft Maintenance B 1.1 / B2 (44).
The ceremony was also attended by representatives from global governing bodies of the air transport industry including the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The College gained global recognition last year when it was granted associate membership in the prestigious TRAINAIR PLUS programme of ICAO. It is already accredited by international bodies such as IATA, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the Civil Aviation Authorities of Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pakistan.Itoperates a branch in the Maldivian capital of Male, and an m-learning platform for distance learning.