The Airlines said its flight UL 503 bound to London with 272 passengers on May 1 was diverted to Vienna international airport in Austria due to a medical emergency involving a passenger who required urgent medical attention.

Later the same flight flight experienced a delay in departure from Vienna due to a technical issue, preventing it from reaching the Heathrow Airport before its scheduled closure at 22:00hrs London time.

“Consequently, Flight UL 503 was rescheduled for departure the following day, with all passengers who had visa to Europe provided with accommodation in Vienna,” SriLankan Airlines said in a statement.

The flight resumed its journey on May 2 and reached London at 21.30hrs, London time.

“As a result of this delay, SriLankan Airlines regrettably had to cancel Flight UL 504 from London to Colombo on 1 May 2024, with affected passengers notified and those who had already checked in provided with hotel accommodation,” it said.

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to our passengers. The safety and well-being of our passengers are paramount, and we deeply appreciate their understanding and cooperation.”

Government officials have told Economy Next that the delays in bringing down aircraft parts after Covid pandemic have contributed to delay in timely repair of technical issues.

The Airline, which once was profitable under Dubai-based Emirates management until 2007, has witnessed a raft of technical issues in Colombo as well as foreign airports recently. It has incurred losses since 2008.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa did not extend the Emirates deal with Emirates after the Dubai-based carrier failed to allocate a large government contingent with him to travel to London. (Colombo/May 3/2024)

Supreme Global Holdings is a firm connected to businessman R M Manivannan.

Supreme Global said it has formed a consortium including MBS Investments, the investment arm of Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani of Qatar, and Sherisha Technologies Private Limited, formerly known as SunEdison Energy India Private Limited.

Supreme Global Holdings has provided 1.5 billion US dollars in credit to Sri Lanka during an economic crisis and accepted payments for oil in rupees, the statement said.

The involvement of a Qatar fund would support better financial stability, the statement said. (Colombo/May02/2024)

The new move empowers SriLankan Airlines to amplify its position and reach in Africa and to travel conveniently between Colombo and Mahé twice a week. Mahé is the largest island of the Seychelles archipelago.

For Air Seychelles, over 20 destinations are included in the partnership, which includes much requested destinations such as Sydney and Melbourne in Australia as well as other popular stops in India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

“This new codeshare agreement will allow SriLankan Airlines and Air Seychelles to place their codes on each other’s flights and enable passengers to continue their journey conveniently using a single booking and with their luggage checked in all the way to the final destination,” SriLankan Airlines said in s statement.

“We are pleased to boost our codeshare network and presence in the African region through this new partnership. We look forward to working with Air Seychelles to provide our customers more African destination options in the coming years,” Richard Nuttall, Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines said,

Flights under the codeshare agreement are available to book now and will begin operating in May 2024.

“Now that we have been flying to Colombo for over 9 months, the twice-weekly flights have proven successful,” Charles Johnson, Air Seychelles’ Chief Commercial Officer said.

“The next step to solidifying our relationship is with this code-share, allowing even more passengers the convenience of a single ticket to more points served by our partner in Asia and Australia.” (Colombo/April 26/2024)

“Five parties submitted Expressions of Interest and the cabinet approved the decision to award it to the Russia-India joint venture on a 30-year contract.”

The companies were named as Shaurya Aeronautics Pvt Ltd of India and Airports of Regions Management Company of Russia.

The China-built airport has struggled to attract regular traffic, even after a raft of special concessions were offered for international airlines operating from the airport, including discounts on landing and parking charges.

The losses of the airport were reduced by 30 percent, Ports and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva told parliament in December.

Read more
Sri Lanka’s Mattala Airport loses billion rupees in 2023: Minister

This week Iran’s President Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi landed at the airport in an Airbus A340. (Colombo/Apr26/2024)

By automating the monitoring and coordination of aircraft maintenance with AMOS, the airline said it will be able to boost engineering productivity, reduce costs and maintain quality and consistency in its Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) operations.

“The integration took several months to complete given the complexities of transitioning data from our legacy system to the advanced AMOS platform. With this transition, we anticipate modernizing our operations, achieving greater efficiency, and ensuring that we maintain our aircraft and safety standards to the highest degree,” Head of Engineering at SriLankan Airlines, Arjuna Kapugeekiyana said.

“We have further integrated the AMOSmobile/EXEC Mobile add-on to maximize the overall value of the project with seamless, paperless operations such as electronic work instructions and digital sign-offs that streamline unnecessary time-consuming tasks,” Group Head of Information Technology of SriLankan Airlines, Chamara Perera said.

The AMOS platform has sophisticated features and data visualization functionalities that allow for precise inventory management and cost-effective practices.

Accurate calculations and scheduling of maintenance work will enable SriLankan Engineering to effectively manage aircraft maintenance limits in alignment with flight schedules.

The system also allows SriLankan to proactively plan manpower and material resources for maintenance activities, reducing Aircraft on Ground (AOG) occurrences as well as maintaining optimal inventory levels.

The AMOSmobile/EXEC software extension additionally empowers engineers and technicians of SriLankan Airlines to perform aircraft dispatch functions; request parts; check on fleet status; and carry out line and base maintenance tasks through a touch-optimized app, replacing paper-based with a digitized workflow. (Colombo/Apr25/2024)

There have been tit-for-tat drone and missile exchanges between Iran and Israel in recent days.

“These changes mean that flight times to Europe are extended, requiring additional fuel and reducing the available payload,” the airline said.

“Further, to meet slot times in London, these flights are being advanced by one hour.

“As a result, unfortunately, some passengers on the London flights have missed connections or been offloaded.
“The airline will maintain this routing and the earlier departure time to London for the next few days whilst it monitors the situation.”
Passengers who have missed flights due to early departure are being given alternative flights and hotel accommodation.
“Departure times from London, and to and from other European cities remain unchanged,” the airline said.
“The safety of our passengers and crew remains our top priority.”

The low-cost airline’s flight departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on its maiden voyage on April 17 at 2:00 am, according to media reports.

FitsAir will initially operate two weekly flights every Wednesday and Sunday on the Dhaka-Colombo route with Airbus A320 aircraft with 164 seat-capacity.

The return flight will depart Colombo every Tuesday and Saturday at 9:30 pm and will reach Dhaka at 1:00 am.

The no-frills carrier offers return fares to Bangladesh starting at 58,900 rupees.

The airline plans to launch another frequency on the route in the next two months and two more by the end of the year.

It currently operates direct flights to Dubai, Male and Chennai from the airline’s hub in Colombo.

Fits Aviations (Pvt) Ltd, is part of Sri Lanka’s privately owned Aberdeen Holdings and was formerly Expo Air, which operated domestic flights and international cargo flights.

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Sri Lanka is looking to boost trade investment and tourism ties with Bangladesh, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said in November when it launched the Sri Lanka–Bangladesh Business Council (SBBC). (Colombo/Apr19/2024)

Richard Vaisvila, Lead Engineer of Airport Operations at Boeing Airport Operations Engineering conducted the technical session, state-run Airport and Aviation Services said.

Officials from AASL and SriLankan Airlines had attended the session. SriLankan has the ground handling franchise at the airport.

Boeing’s B-777X model promises greater fuel efficiency with the 777 dash 9 and can carry over 400 passengers in a two – class configuration.

The aircraft has foldable wing-tips allowing it to be parked at airports that can accommodate earlier B-777 style aircraft with a smaller wingspan (Code E).

(Colombo/Apr15/2024)

State-run Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited said the Access will be paid by its own funds and concurrence has been obtained from the Japan International Co-operation Agency which was funding the terminal expansion.

Access will work under the direct supervision of consultants to the project, Japan Airport Consultants, Inc and Nippon Koei Co. Ltd.

Access will install 68 remaining piles, construct pile caps and ground beams at the Main Terminal Building (MTB), Pier 2, and Pier 3, as well as the partial completion of an underground utility tunnel in Pier No 2 and 3.

The work will also address the issue of deterioration of steel reinforcements.

The work will reduce the cost and time required for carrying out substructure works of the project when a new contractor is found for the project later, AASL said.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers last week approved the award of the contract to Access Engineering. (Colombo/Apr08/2024)

The minister said at a discussion that the objective is to turn the Hingurakgoda airport into an airport dedicated to civil aviation.

“The previous budget had allocated 2 billion rupees for this for this year. Until the construction of the airport is complete, from annual budget estimates, the money needed for this will be provided.

“Our final target is like Mattala and Palali to make this a dedicated airport for civil aviation, not domestic but international,” he said.

The Hingurakgoda airport, originally known as Royal Air Force Minneriya, airport goes back to the days of World War II, serving as a base for the British Royal Air Force. (Colombo/Apr05/2024)

Aircraft movements were up 30.77 percent to 8,946 in the first two months of the year, state-run Airport and Aviation Services said.

Tourists arriving by air had risen 104.65 percent to 452,532 in the first two months.

Several international airlines had increased flights to the island, and others which had terminated flights during a the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 or currency crisis in 2022 were resuming flights.

On February 01, Cathay Pacific resumed thrice weekly flights from Hong Kong, after ceasing operations in March 2020.

Etihad which operates 10 weekly flights will increase operations to 13 times week from May 01 and 20 flights from June 15, the AASL said.

On April 01, Thai Airways also resumed flights. (Colombo/Apr03/2024)

The national carrier will lease two aircraft from ORIX Aviation for 6 years at a fee of 360,000 dollars.

Another two aircraft will be leased from Aergo Capital Limited for 8 years at a fee of 365,000 dollars, he said.

Sri Lankan has contracts of several leased aircraft expire, after legislators blocked the first tender floated to lease aircraft in 2022, around the time the island defaulted on its sovereign bond.

Airbus A330-200s will be leased from ORIX and Airbus A330-300s will be leased from Aergo, an airline official said. (Colombo/Apr02/2024)

In October 30, 2023 there was a cabinet decision to call for competitive tenders from contractors registered at CIDA.

Four bids had been received after tenders were called, Gunawardena said, and the contract was awarded to Sri Lankan construction firm Access Engineering Plc.

The BIA Development Project Phase II, State 2 involves the construction of a main terminal building and air bridges number 2 and 3, he said. (Colombo/Apr2/2024 – This story has been recast to show that contract involves unspecified identified work in the project)

Thailand’s Thai Airways resumed daily flights to Colombo from April 01, state-run Airport and Aviation Services, which runs the Indian Ocean island’s airports said.

Thai Airways flights are operated daily as follows.
Bangkok – Colombo
TG307 BKK-CMB 21:05-00:01 (+1) (Daily)
Colombo – Bangkok
TG308 CMB – BKK 01:20-07:30 (Daily)

Thai Ambassador to Sri Lanka Paitoon Mahapannaporn, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva and senior officials of Airports and Aviation Services were present on the occasion.

Sri Lanka has seen an uptick in tourist arrivals, and seeks to boost regional tourism further.

Sri Lanka and Thailand signed a free trade agreement which will allow the two countries to benefit from potential trade and investment that is largely untapped at the moment.

A new bilateral air services agreement was also signed, and Sri Lanka and Thailand are considering visa free travel to strengthen economic links between the two countries. (Colombo/Apr1/2024)

The Maldivian will start twice weekly flights from April 25.

Maldives which has a strong currency and the least activist monetary authority is also a source of tourists to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka was hit by a currency crisis soon after it recovered from Covid hitting tourist arrivals and air connections. (Colombo/Mar22/2024)

At the moment India’s Alliance Air flies once a day to Jaffna from Chennai.

Due to the short runway length the airline uses smaller ATR-72 aircraft.

According to Indigo’s website, the airline also has 45 ATR-78 aircraft in its fleet.

AASL did not say when the flights will begin. (Colombo/Mar21/2024)

The code share will operate from 15 March 2024.

“The passenger traffic between the two cities continues to exceed our expectations,” Richard Nuttall, Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines said in a statement.

The partnership enables SriLankan Airlines to codeshare on flights operated between Singapore and Seoul Incheon by Korean Air.

Korean Air will codeshare on flights operated by SriLankan Airlines between Colombo and Seoul Incheon; Singapore; Chennai in India; and Male in the Maldives.

The collaboration will allow SriLankan Airlines to access Korean Air’s far eastern network, and Korean Air will gain access to SriLankan Airlines’ network in the Indian subcontinent, according to the statement. (Colombo/March/2024)

The government was taking out 510 million US dollars out of 1.2 billion US dollars in debt, and the airline has to show better performance in the next six months Minister de Silva had said, during a meeting with the management and trade unions on March 11.

Separately the airline has also been promised 60 to 70 million dollars of working capital support, Minister de Silva said earlier this month.

The airline should to cuts costs and maintain financial discipline in the next six months, if not jobs of 6,000 employees are at risk, he said.

Sri Lankan Airlines now had a fleet of 16 aircraft operating 06 long haul routes and 29 short haul ones, officials had said.

Related SriLankan Airlines debt of US$510mn to be taken over by govt

SriLankan Airlines started to show big losses after then President Mahinda Rajapaksa had a dispute with then managing shareholder Emirates and cancelled the visa of its chief executive.

The airline is on track to be privatized. (Colombo/Mar12/2024)

Airport sources said four SriLankan Airlines flights faced delay and a frustrated ground handling staff were unable to coop up with the situation after the delays.

“SriLankan Airlines would like to clarify that the delays experienced by its passengers at the check-in counters in Bandaranaike International Airport during the early hours of this morning, were caused by temporary, unplanned operational conditions at the airport and not due to any type of trade union action,” SriLankan said in a statement.

“The check-in counter operations have been stabilized and returned to normal as of now,” said the firm which is now seeking opportunities for divestment under the government’s restructuring plans of state-owned enterprises reforms.

“SriLankan Airlines would like to apologize to any passengers inconvenienced by these operational delays, while the airline continues to monitor the situation and take steps to avoid a recurrence.”

The Airline, which once was profitable under Dubai-based Emirates management until 2007 has witnessed a raft of technical issues in Colombo as well as foreign airports recently.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa did not extend the deal with Emirates after the Dubai-based carrier failed to allocate a large government contingent with him to travel to London. (Colombo/Feb 25/2024)

The agreement’s focus was on preventing delays in Sri Lankan workers’ migration abroad, de Silva said at a press briefing on Thursday (15).

“The agreement, signed between the Israeli Ministry of Transport and our Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Aviation, marks the beginning of direct flights between Israel and Sri Lanka, aiming to enhance passenger convenience,” de Silva said.

He added that the agreement’s objective was facilitating prompt overseas employment for Sri Lankan workers and noted the interest of many Israelis in visiting Sri Lanka.

Last year Sri Lanka signed a deal to send 10,000 workers to Israel amid an ongoing war.

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Sending Sri Lankans to work in Israel is insensitive: Legislator

Critics have pointed out that the timing of sending workers to Israel was not right. “Sending our workers to a country that is committing war crimes is like sending workers to nazi Germany, when Hitler was killing jews, and there were labour shortages,” MP Rauff Hakeem told parliament last November. (Colombo/Feb15/2024)