Sri Lankan Airlines on the brink of collapse

SRILANKAN AIRBUS A330-343 4R-ALP (MSN 1669)

Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said that 6000 employees of SriLankan Airlines are at a risk of losing the jobs, if the national carrier is not restructured immediately.

The Minister singled out the 'Government bailing out', by saying, the government cannot continue to maintain the expense of SriLankan Airlines, which is continuously losing money, and it is not justified to continue wasting taxpayers’ money.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said steps have already been taken to get the support of international financial experts to carry out the work related to the restructuring of SriLankan Airlines, and it is the government’s aim to carry out the work in a very transparent manner.

Addressing a press conference organised at the Presidential Media Center last Friday under the theme ‘One way to a stable country’, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva noted that SriLankan Airlines, which started decades ago as the national carrier, is Sri Lanka’s own unique airline.

He also added that during the period when Emirates Airlines administered SriLankan Airlines, it managed to make a profit of 30 million rupees. Apart from that, SriLankan Airlines has not been able to earn any profit so far.

“This airline is maintained by the tax money of the common people of this country, from the person who has never seen an airplane, who has never set foot in an airplane. We are proud to have our own national airline. But today the question arises whether the amount paid for that honor is reasonable.”

“As of today, SriLankan Airlines has a debt of US$ 1.2 billion. Several institutions including local state banks have had to pay the arrears for international bonds and leased aircraft. Also, we have to pay for the fuel that we got without paying money. It is not possible to run an airline in debt like this,” the Minister stressed.