The Minister of Ports, Navigation and Aviation Mr. Nimal Siripala de Silva along with the Sri Lankan Airlines control authority and all union representatives to inquire about the inconvenience caused to the air passengers due to the delay of about 08 flights of the SriLankan Airlines in the last few days at the special ministerial auditorium. A discussion was held.Sri Lanka Latest News
When the engineers’ union representatives were asked about the recent flight delays, they said that the technical faults in the planes caused these delays. But the Sri Lankan Aviation Authority said that this situation was brought about by working to the letter due to some kind of trade union action.
After inquiring about this at length from the trade union representatives and the control authority, the minister said: There are about 260 pilots for the 21 aircraft currently in operation, and accordingly, 12 pilots are employed for one aircraft, which is in line with international standards. That is compatible. Also, according to international laws, a pilot should fly for 100 hours per month, and according to the reports received, a Sri Lankan pilot has flown for about 60 hours per month in the past. If he had flown, such a problem would not have arisen.
Also, the minister said that there is a problem in these trade unions regarding salaries and allowances and said that SriLankan Airlines currently owes US$ 1.2 billion in debt and interest for that. Meanwhile, the Minister emphasized that the loss caused by the delays of the planes in the past days is about US$ 06 million, so it is not possible to give any allowance or salary increase to the employees at this time.
But if the productivity of the air service is increased, the minister emphasized to the trade union representatives that some payment can be made based on the productivity.
But as the Minister of Aviation, he said that he has a great responsibility to provide a high quality air service, the minister said that accordingly, he decided to protect the rights of Sri Lankan Airlines and give other airlines the right to operate these flights. Accordingly, the minister added that 5th Freedom Right will have to be given to other airlines. The Secretary of the Ministry K.D.S. Ruwanchandra, SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage, Civil Aviation Authority GS Withanage, Director General P.K. A group of officials including Mr. Jayakantha participated.
